wait with bated breath
To remain in a state of eager anticipation (of or for something). I've been waiting with bated breath to hear whether I got into grad school. Fans waited with bated breath for new information about the latest installment in our favorite video game franchise.
with bated breath
Eagerly. The phrase suggests that one is breathing shallowly in anticipation of something. I've been waiting with bated breath to hear back from my first-choice school.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
with bated breath
Cliché while holding one's breath. We stood there with bated breath while the man hung on the side of the bridge. They listened with bated breath for the announcement about the winner.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
with bated breath
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 used somewhat ironically, indicating one is not all that eager or anxious. [Late 1500s] Also see
hold one's breath, def. 2.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
with bated breath
COMMON If you wait for something with bated breath, you wait in an anxious or excited way to see what happens next. Flora and I waited with bated breath to hear what Evelyn considered sensible. They got the people in the villages interested in what was going to happen, so they were then watching with bated breath as the experiment began. Note: `Bate' is an old form of `abate', which in this context means `control' or `hold back'.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
with bated breath
in great suspense; very anxiously or excitedly. Baited , which is sometimes seen, is a misspelling, since bated in this sense is a shortened form of abated , the idea being that your breathing is lessened under the influence of extreme suspense.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
with ˌbated ˈbreath
hardly able to breathe because you are very anxious about something: We watched with bated breath as the lion moved slowly towards him.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
with bated breath
Holding one’s breath back in expectation. To bate meant to restrain, but this verb is scarcely heard today except in this cliché, which itself has an archaic sound and often is used ironically. Shakespeare used it in The Merchant of Venice (1.3): “Shall I bend low, and in a bondsman’s key, With bated breath, and whispering humbleness.” A more recent colloquial locution is don’t hold your breath, meaning “don’t wait in vain.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer