Idiom
With bated breath
With bated breath means anxiously or excitedly, while waiting to find out what will happen.
How people use it
The usual pattern is wait with bated breath (fans waited with bated breath for the final score). It sounds a little formal or literary, and people often use it with humor or sarcasm (I'm not waiting with bated breath for the bus to be on time). A very common mistake is writing baited breath. Bait is food used to catch fish, so the correct word here is bated.
Also said: wait with bated breath.
Examples
- The class waited with bated breath as the teacher read out the winners of the science fair.
- We watched with bated breath as the kitten edged along the top of the fence.
- Fans are waiting with bated breath for the next book in the series.
Where it comes from
Bated is a short form of abated, meaning lowered or held back, so bated breath is breath held in from fear or excitement. The phrase was made famous by Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (about 1597), in which Shylock speaks of bowing low 'with bated breath and whispering humbleness.' Bated has almost disappeared from English except in this phrase.
Check yourself
1. What is the correct spelling of the phrase?
Answer: With bated breath. Bated comes from abated, meaning held back. Baited relates to fishing bait.
2. What does it mean to wait with bated breath?
Answer: To wait anxiously or excitedly. Bated breath is breath held in with suspense, so the phrase describes eager or nervous waiting.
Word game fan? See every word hiding in BREATH.