Collocations for breath - noun

big, deep, long, slow | quick, shallow, short | bad
Smoking gives you bad breath.

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

let out
He let out a long breath.

hold
How long can you hold your breath for?

get back
I needed a few minutes to get my breath back after the run.

catch
When he said he had resigned, I caught my breath in surprise.

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
His breath came in short gasps.

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

out of ~
I''m a bit out of breath after my run.

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

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

a breath of fresh air
I''m going outside for 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 bit short of breath and had to sit down.

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