English

Verb

hold one's breath

1. Used other than as an idiom: see hold,‎ one's,‎ breath. To keep air in one's lungs, pausing noticeably before exhaling after previously inhaling.
2. (idiomatic, usually in a negative) To wait expectantly for something to happen soon.

   He might pay back the money he borrowed without you reminding him, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

   • 2008, Linda Robinson, Tell Me How This Ends: General David Petraeus and the Search for a Way Out of Iraq, page 271:

     Petraeus hoped they would succeed, and lent his support, but he was not holding his breath.

Derived terms

• don't hold your breath

Translations