Emotions & feelings
hold your breath
wait tensely
To hold your breath means to wait anxiously for something important to happen.
Hear it in real life
Were you nervous before the results?
Yes, I was holding my breath the whole time.
Everyone held their breath as the judges announced the winner.
The mistake everyone makes
Not: I held my breathing while waiting.
Say: I held my breath while waiting.
The fixed phrase uses the noun 'breath', not the gerund 'breathing'.
Build it
How it fits in a sentence.
hold your breath; be holding your breath; hold my breath
Compare it
Where this one sits next to the phrases it gets mixed up with.
Your turn: say it out loud
Everyone held their breath as the judges announced the winner.
Say it out loud two or three times, until it feels like yours.
hold your breath
wait tensely
“Everyone held their breath as the judges announced the winner.”
heytardy
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