breathe a sigh of relief

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breathe a sigh of relief (third-person singular simple present breathes a sigh of relief, present participle breathing a sigh of relief, simple past and past participle breathed a sigh of relief)

1. (idiomatic) to be relieved; to feel relief.
   • 2011 September 29, Jon Smith, “Tottenham 3 - 1 Shamrock Rovers”, in BBC Sport‎:

     And the home fans breathed a huge sigh of relief barely two minutes later when Andros Townsend's cross was finished by Defoe.