1. Alan took out a small ring. Jennifer knew this was the moment, and she waited with bated breath for him to ask her to marry him.
2. The swimmer stood silently with bated breath as he waited for the starter’s gun to go off.

Bated is a shortened form of abated , which means to lessen or put on hold. The first recorded use of bated is in 1596 in Shakespeare’s play Merchant of Venice : “With bated breath, and whisp’ring humblenesse. ” The expression is used in situations in which someone is waiting tensely for something to happen. 100