Bated breath first appeared in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice in 1605. Using a shortened form of abated, which means "stopped or reduced," the phrase refers to people holding their breath …

What's the meaning of the phrase 'Bated breath'? Breathing that is subdued because of some emotion or difficulty. ‘Waiting with bated breath’ is holding your breath in anticipation.

May 28, 2025 · The meaning of WITH BATED BREATH is in a nervous and excited state anticipating what will happen. How to use with bated breath in a sentence.

Many writers, including JK Rowling and her publishers, get confused between bated breath and baited breath. The correct spelling is bated breath, meaning in a nervous or excited state. …

Sep 26, 2022 · What does “bated breath” or “baited breath” mean? The phrase “bated breath” or “with bated breath” means waiting in anticipation. When you are waiting for someone or …

Jul 23, 2024 · With bated breath, the crowd awaited the announcement of the winner. The children listened with bated breath to the storyteller’s suspenseful tale. He waited with bated …

Eagerly or anxiously, as in We waited for the announcement of the winner with bated breath. This expression literally means "holding one's breath" ( bate means "restrain"). Today it is also …

bated breath - The expression is based on bate, meaning "to moderate, restrain" or "to lessen, diminish"; though bated was once rather common, it is now rare except in this set expression.

The idiom ‘bated breath’ is an expression used to describe a state of breathless anticipation, anxiety, or suspense. When someone is waiting with bated breath, they are holding their …

If you wait for something with bated breath, you wait anxiously to find out what will happen. [ formal ] Every Monday the whole office used to wait with bated breath for his report.