hold your breath
Suspend your breathing
To hold your breath is to stop breathing temporarily, whether underwater, to avoid inhaling something unpleasant, or in anticipation: Hold your breath and make a wish.
The phrase commonly appears as a warning against false hope: Don't hold your breath means something is unlikely to happen soon, if ever.
- on edgeTense and anxious
- apneaTemporary cessation of respiration
- fearEmotional response to threat
- tensionStretched or strained state
- suspenseAnxious uncertainty about outcomes
freediving · anticipation · wait and see · pause · count to ten · underwater · anxiety · stillness · nail-biting · exhilaration · excitement · air · pressure · dread · lung capacity · silence · oxygen deprivation · blue in the face
- breathinginhalation, exhalation, inhale, exhale, respiration
- anticipationanticipating, expectation, expectancy, expecting, awaiting
- suspensesuspense, suspenseful, tension, nail-biter, nail-biting
hold your breathexhale
Expel breath outward
breathe out · breathe · take a breath · gasp · pant
hold your breathdon't hold your breath
Expect a long wait
relax · breathe easy · let it go · be patient · stay calm
hold, breath, breathe, holder, breathing, holding, uphold, withhold, holds