sighs of relief

Meaning

1. 1phraseplural

   long breaths out that people make when worry or pressure has ended

   Grammar: Countable in the singular as 'a sigh of relief'; use the plural for more than one or for a group.

   Patterns

   • breathe a sigh of relief
   • let out sighs of relief
   • sighs of relief from someone

   When the test results came back normal, the whole family let out sighs of relief.

   There were sighs of relief in the office after the deadline was extended.

   She gave a sigh of relief when she found her keys.

Common combinations

breathe a sigh of relief

We all breathed a sigh of relief when the plane landed safely.

let out a sigh of relief

He let out a sigh of relief when the interview ended.

a collective sigh of relief

There was a collective sigh of relief when the storm passed.

sighs of relief from the crowd

Sighs of relief from the crowd followed the final whistle.

Synonyms and how they differ

exhalation of relief

A more formal phrase for the same action, but it is much less common in everyday speech.

breath of relief

Similar meaning, but 'breathe a sigh of relief' is the fixed expression you should learn.

Opposites

Word family

sigh verb

To breathe out slowly and audibly, often showing tiredness or relief.

relieved adjective

Feeling happy because a worry has gone away.

relief noun

The good feeling you have when something unpleasant stops or does not happen.

Commonly confused: sighs of relief or sighs of relief?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “sighs of relief”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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