sigh

sigh

I

sigh¹ /saɪ/ verb [intransitive]1. to breathe in and out making a long sound, especially because you are bored, disappointed, tired etc:
    ‘Well, there’s nothing we can do about it now,’ she sighed.
    sigh heavily/deeply
    Frankie stared out of the window and sighed deeply.
    sigh with
    He sighed with despair at the thought of all the opportunities he had missed.
2. literary if the wind sighs, it makes a long sound like someone sighing:
    The wind sighed in the trees.
3. sigh for something to be sad because you are thinking about a pleasant time in the past:
    Emilia sighed for her lost youth.
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ breathe [intransitive and transitive] to take air into your lungs and send it out again: Mary knew he was asleep because he was breathing deeply. | He breathed the clear spring air.
   ▪ sigh to breathe out slowly and make a noise that shows you are disappointed, tired, relieved etc: She just sighed and shook her head. | ‘Never mind,’ he sighed. ‘I’m sure there’ll be other opportunities.’
   ▪ pant to breathe quickly and noisily through your mouth, because you have been using a lot of effort: They were panting by the time they got to the finish line.
   ▪ gasp to breathe very quickly and deeply and with difficulty: Her eyes were wide, and she was gasping for breath. | ‘Do you think you can walk?’ ‘I’ll try to,’ he gasped.
   ▪ snore to breathe noisily while you are sleeping: I couldn’t sleep because my husband was snoring.
   ▪ wheeze to breathe with difficulty, making a noise in your throat and chest, because you are ill: His asthma was making him wheeze.
   ▪ be out of breath to be unable to breathe easily, especially because you have been running or doing other exercise: I was out of breath by the time we reached the top of the hill.
   ▪ be short of breath to be unable to breathe easily, especially because you are unhealthy: Because she was so overweight, she was often short of breath.

II

sigh² noun [countable]
an act or sound of sighing
    sigh of
    She let out a sigh of impatience.
    give/let out/heave a sigh
    Laura shrugged, and gave a heavy sigh.
    We all breathed a sigh of relief when we heard they were safe.
     

COLLOCATIONS

■ verbs
   ▪ give/let out a sigh She let out a sigh of disappointment.
   ▪ heave a sigh (=to sigh loudly and deeply) Uncle Walter heaved a sigh and slumped back in his chair.
   ▪ breathe a sigh of relief When he had left, Miranda breathed a sigh of relief.
■ adjectives
   ▪ a deep sigh Jimmy gave a deep sigh and shrugged.
   ▪ a long sigh With a long sigh, she tried to shake off her sombre mood.
   ▪ a huge/great/big sigh She heaved a great sigh.
   ▪ a heavy sigh (=a big sad sigh) Finally, she turned away from the mirror with a heavy sigh.
   ▪ a little/small sigh Quinn let out a little sigh and closed the book.
   ▪ a weary sigh With a weary sigh, she rubbed a hand over her eyes.
   ▪ an audible sigh (=a sigh that can be heard) Tonight she breathed an audible sigh of relief as the show ended.
   ▪ a collective sigh (=a sigh that many people give at the same time) She heard a collective sigh of relief as she announced her acceptance.
■ phrases
   ▪ a sigh of relief/exasperation/satisfaction etc At last the girl stopped eating and sat back with a sigh of satisfaction.