English

Alternative forms

• take some air

Verb

get some air

1. (idiomatic) To invigorate oneself by breathing refreshing outdoor air, especially after departing from a building or other enclosed space for this purpose.
   • 1870, Charles Dickens, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, ch. 20:

     [I]t was enough to send her rattling away again in a cab, through deserts of gritty streets, where many people crowded at the corner of courts and byways to get some air.

   • 1891, Henry James, The Patagonia, ch. 1:

     [H]e took occasion to remark that it was lovely on the balcony: one really got some air, the breeze being from that quarter.

   • 1907, F. Marion Crawford, The Diva's Ruby, ch. 6:

     "Ah, I see! You went for a little walk to get some air!"

   • 1918, Booth Tarkington, The Magnificent Ambersons, ch. 30:

     "You'd better begin to get some air and exercise and quit hanging about in the house all day."

   • 1995 Sep. 26, Nick Coleman, "Ropin' and a-rhymin'," The Independent (UK) (retrieved 23 Mar 2014):

     "We got out of the van to get some air on the Gower peninsula."

   • 2007 May 17, Steven Erlanger and Jon Elsen, "Israeli air strikes target Hamas in Gaza," New York Times (retrieved 23 Mar 2014):

     Gaza City had become generally calmer on Thursday after a cease-fire between Fatah and Hamas, and residents had emerged into the streets to buy food and get some air.

Translations

See also

• catch one's breath
• clear one's head
• take a breather