Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Breathe

Breathe (brēt) , intransitive verb

[From Breath.]

1.
To respire; to inhale and exhale air; hence;, to live.
I am in health, I breathe. — Shakespeare
Breathes there a man with soul so dead Who never to himself hath said, This is my own, my native land! — Sir W. Scott [The Lay of the Last Minstrel]
2.
To take breath; to rest from action.
Well! breathe awhile, and then to it again! — Shakespeare
3.
To pass like breath; noiselessly or gently; to exhale; to emanate; to blow gently.
The air breathes upon us here most sweetly. — Shakespeare
There breathes a living fragrance from the shore. — Byron

Breathe , transitive verb

1.
To inhale and exhale in the process of respiration; to respire.
To view the light of heaven, and breathe the vital air. — Dryden
2.
To inject by breathing; to infuse; -- with into.
Able to breathe life into a stone. — Shakespeare
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. — Gen. ii. 7
3.
To emit or utter by the breath; to utter softly; to whisper; as, to breathe a vow.
He softly breathed thy name. — Dryden
Or let the church, our mother, breathe her curse, A mother's curse, on her revolting son. — Shakespeare
4.
To exhale; to emit, as breath; as, the flowers breathe odors or perfumes.
5.
To express; to manifest; to give forth.
Others articles breathe the same severe spirit. — Milner
6.
To act upon by the breath; to cause to sound by breathing.
They breathe the flute. — Prior
7.
To promote free respiration in; to exercise.
And every man should beat thee. I think thou wast created for men to breathe themselves upon thee. — Shakespeare
8.
To suffer to take breath, or recover the natural breathing; to rest; as, to breathe a horse.
A moment breathed his panting steed. — Sir W. Scott
9.
To put out of breath; to exhaust.
Mr. Tulkinghorn arrives in his turret room, a little breathed by the journey up. — Dickens
10.
(Phonetics) To utter without vocality, as the nonvocal consonants.
The same sound may be pronounces either breathed, voiced, or whispered. — H. Sweet
Breathed elements, being already voiceless, remain unchanged [in whispering]. — H. Sweet

[in whispering]

Collocations (3)
To breathe again , to take breath; to feel a sense of relief, as from danger, responsibility, or press of business.
To breathe one's last , to die; to expire.
To breathe a vein , to open a vein; to let blood. — Dryden