Stress and pressure · Feelings and energy
breathing room
space to relax
Extra time or space that allows you to relax or act less urgently.
This vs that
The extra time gave us some breathing room.
I took a short break.
Hear it in real life
Can you take on another task today?
Not really. I need a bit of breathing room.
The extra week gave us some breathing room before the launch.
Which sounds natural?
Psst — which one would you actually say?
'Breathing room' is the natural idiom for relief from time pressure.
The mistake everyone makes
Not: We need a breathing space to finish this.
Say: We need some breathing room to finish this.
'Breathing room' is the usual expression for extra time or space.
Say it together
Whole chunks natives use with it.
need some breathing room
We need some breathing room before we decide what to do next.
Phrases to borrow
More for talking about stress and pressure.
I've got too much on
I've got too much on this week.
I'm struggling to keep up
I'm struggling to keep up with all these emails.
Stress and pressure words
Feelings and energy · Stress and pressure: the words around “breathing room”.
More connectionsMore stress and pressure words8
Your turn: say it out loud
We just need a bit of breathing room.
Say it out loud two or three times, until it feels like yours.
breathing room
space to relax
“The extra week gave us some breathing room before the launch.”
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