With bated breath, they waited for the seeker to pass.

Meaning: This sentence is describing how someone is holding their breath and waiting for someone else to pass by.

Choice of Words: Bated means held back or suppressed. Breath is the air that you take in and let out when you breathe. Waited means to stay in one place, expecting something to happen. Seeker is a person who is trying to find someone or something. Pass means to move past or by something.

Alternative Expressions

They held their breath as the seeker walked by.

Meaning: This means that they were so quiet and still that they didn't even breathe while the person who was looking for them walked by.

Choice of Words: Held means to keep something in place or to prevent it from moving. Breath is the air that we inhale and exhale. When you put them together, held their breath means that they stopped breathing for a moment. Seeker is someone who is looking for something. Walked by means to move past something. When you put it all together, the sentence means that they stopped breathing for a moment as the person looking for them walked past.

They watched the seeker pass with rapt attention.

Meaning: This means that they were so focused on the person who was looking for them that they didn't notice anything else around them.

Choice of Words: Watched means to look at something or someone with attention. Seeker is someone who is looking for something. Pass means to move by or go past something. Rapt means completely absorbed or engrossed. Attention is the act of giving your mind to something. When you put it all together, the sentence means that they were paying very close attention to the person looking for them as they walked by.

Related Expressions