“We waited for the movie trailer with baited breath.”
Confusables Entry 62 / 1011 60-second read
Bated vs. Baited breath
Holding your breath vs Fish hooks.
The comparisoni
“We waited for the movie trailer with bated breath.”
The ruleii
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The phrase is 'bated breath', stemming from 'abated' (to stop or lessen).
'Bated' is entirely obsolete in English except for this one specific phrase.
Memory aidiii
Remember it like this
Your breath is a-BATED (stopped).