Breath vs. Breathe

synographs

I'm sure you've been confused about these two words before. Well, don't worry, we're gonna learn all about the little differences between them.

What Is Their Main Difference?

Both of these words refer to taking fresh air in and then letting it out. In other words, they both refer to the basic human need to survive. However, 'breath' is the air we take it whereas, 'breathe' is the action.

Differences

As stated above, a 'breath' refers to the fresh air we take in. Look below:

Take a deep breath and start your exam.

The girl was gasping for breath and I took pleasure in her weakness underneath me.

'Breathe', however, is a verb and we use it when we want to talk about the action of taking fresh air in and then letting it out. Look at the following examples carefully:

The old man breathed deeply and went back to being silent again.

When I experience a panic attack, I start to breathe heavily.

Similarities

Both of these words refer to the basic need for every creature to live on this planet. We use them to refer to the action of bringing fresh air into our lungs and then letting it out. Check out the following examples:

I know life is hard right now. Just breathe and relax.

Try to use your break time to take a breath and then continue working.

Are They Interchangeable?

Despite the fact that both of these words refer to the act of breathing, we cannot use them interchangeably because of their different parts of speech. Compare:

✓ Breathe for a few minutes, would you?

X Breath for a few minutes, would you?

As you can see, we cannot use 'breath' here because the sentence will be grammatically incorrect.