Bated breath
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The phrase bated breath, used in a sentence such as "I am waiting for your answer with bated breath", refers to a state in which the speaker nearly stops breathing through fear, anxiety, awe, anticipation, or suspense. In this sense, "bated" is a contraction of the word "abated".[citation needed] However, some people misspell the phrase as "baited breath". The words "bated" and "baited" are homonyms.
