The Collaborative International Dictionary
Respire \Re*spire"\ (r?*sp?r), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Respired (-sp?rd"); p. pr. & vb. n. Respiring.] [L. respirare, respiratum; pref. re- re- + spirare to breathe: cf. F. respirer. See Spirit.]
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To take breath again; hence, to take rest or refreshment.
--Spenser.Here leave me to respire.
--Milton.From the mountains where I now respire.
--Byron. (Physiol.) To breathe; to inhale air into the lungs, and exhale it from them, successively, for the purpose of maintaining the vitality of the blood.
Wiktionary
vb. (present participle of respire English)
Usage examples of "respiring".
For some seconds she lay as if stricken, while her mate, hard respiring, drained off his drink and flung away the can.
But her final behavior mystified me, and behind the turmoil of my heart stood a stiller but impenetrabler mystery, that I had felt briefly in my arms: what was it that looked through the optics of that respiring female organism and said "I love you"?
But I stood in the middle of my room doing absolutely nothing except respiring, and, of course, keeping other normal processes going.
This is the photosynthetic process that has evolved spontaneously billions of years ago on Earth, releasing the free oxygen that made the evolution of respiring organisms possible.
Nobody's been respiring into it but us lads, and there aren't enough of us to matter.
But now there approached a season when for months there would be no light but that of the Moon and stars, useless for growth: If the plants had kept on growing and respiring they would have burned up their energy store.