Breath - Definition and Overview

For the play Breath by Samuel Beckett, see Breath (play).

Breath is one of the few bodily functions which can be controlled both consciously and unconsciously. This is one reason why attention to it is common in many forms of meditation. It brings us oxygen, more important to us than food or water; without it we would die in minutes.

Breath is often used as a metaphor for life itself, and time of death is sometimes thought to be at the moment when breath stops (although countless people have 'come back' to life after breathing stops).

Laughter, physically, is simply repeated sharp breaths; there is no consensus in psychology on its purpose. Hiccups are another still-mysterious breath-related phenomenon.

Respiration and gas exchange discuss breathing as a biological function.

In music, breath is used to play wind and brass instruments and many aerophones.