breathing underwater
Gills allow this
Breathing underwater describes the act or ability to respire while submerged—naturally for fish and other aquatic creatures, artificially for humans using scuba gear or other apparatus.
Figuratively, it suggests doing something impossible or surviving in an environment where you shouldn't be able to: After six months in that job, I felt like I was breathing underwater.
The phrase can also describe a dreamlike or surreal state of calm amid difficulty.
- scubaPortable underwater breathing gear
- scuba gearUnderwater breathing apparatus
- gillsAquatic respiratory organs
- gill slitsRespiratory openings in fish
- divingEntering water deliberately
free diving · snorkel · oxygen · lung capacity · bubbles · mermaid · aquatic · submersed · tank · regulator · depth · coral · fins · wetsuit · lungless · submerged · apnea · rebreather
- superpowerstelekinesis, telepathy, superpower, invisibility, force powers
breathing underwaterdrowning
Death by water inhalation
suffocating · asphyxiating · holding breath · gasping · choking
breathing, underwater, breath, breathe, breather, breathless, breathlessly, breathlessness, breaths