Collocations for breath - noun

big, deep, heavy, long, slow
quick, shallow, sharp, short
shaky, shuddering
hot, warm
bad (= bad-smelling)
Smoking gives you bad breath.

draw, draw in, inhale, suck in, take
He spoke solidly for twenty minutes, barely pausing to draw breath.
Take a deep breath and try to relax.

exhale, let out, release
He let out a long breath.

feel
She could feel his warm breath against her cheek.

hold
How long can you hold your breath for?

get back (BrE), regain
I needed a few minutes to get my breath back after the run.

catch
She paused to catch her breath.

gasp for
He came up out of the water gasping for breath.

pause for
She poured out her story, hardly pausing for breath.

save (figurative)
It's useless talking to him—you may as well save your breath.

waste (figurative)
Don't waste your breath. He never listens to advice.

come in gasps, pants, puffs, etc.
His breath came in short gasps.

on sb's breath
I could smell gin on her breath.

out of breath
I'm a little out of breath after my run.

under your breath
He was whispering rude remarks about her under his breath.

breath of
It was a still day, without a breath of wind.

a breath of fresh air (often figurative)
I'm going outside for a breath of fresh air.
The new secretary is a breath of fresh air.

an intake of breath
When the news was announced, there was a sharp intake of breath.

in the same breath
How can we trust a government that mentions community care and cutbacks in the same breath?

short of breath
I felt a little short of breath and had to sit down.

take sb's breath away (figurative)
The sheer audacity of the man took my breath away.

with bated breath
We waited for the decision with bated breath.