Meanings
present singular third person wastes breath · participle present wasting breath · participle past wasted breath · past wasted breath
- idiomaticTo speak in a manner which is needless or futile; to make points in discussion or argument which are not appreciated or heeded.
Why waste breath saying self-evident things?
1906, John Kendrick Bangs, chapter 1, in R. Holmes & Co.2 more examples
Middleton and Paul saw no use in wasting their breath in remonstrances against this proposal.
1827, James Fenimore Cooper, chapter 24, in The Prairie"Please don't waste your breath asking me ridiculous questions," he says.
2009 May 19, “Akshay jealous of Sanjay's tattoos”, in Times of India, retrieved 14 Jun 2009
Translations
Chinese Cantonese 嘥氣 /嘥气
- 嘥氣 /嘥气 (saai¹ hei³)to speak futilely
Chinese Mandarin 白說 /白说
- 白說 /白说 (báishuō)to speak futilely
Finnish puhua joutavia
- puhua joutaviato speak futilely
French perdre sa salive, gaspiller sa salive
- perdre sa saliveto speak futilely
- gaspiller sa saliveto speak futilely
German Atem verschwenden
- Atem verschwendento speak futilely
Icelandic eyða orku, eyða orku í
- eyða orkuto speak futilely
- eyða orku íto speak futilely
Italian sprecar fiato
- sprecar fiatoto speak futilely
Polish szkoda słów
- szkoda słówto speak futilely
Portuguese gastar saliva
- gastar salivato speak futilely
Russian говори́ть на ве́тер
- говори́ть на ве́тер (govorítʹ na véter)to speak futilely
Spanish gastar saliva
- gastar salivato speak futilely
Cite this entry
waste breath. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/waste%20breath
“waste breath.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/waste%20breath. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “waste breath,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/waste%20breath.
Source: waste breath on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.