Definition of breath for Students. 1  1 : ability to breathe : ease of breathing I lost my breath for a moment. 2  2 : air taken in or sent out by the lungs Hold your breath. 3  3 : a slight breeze a breath of wind.
Definition of 'raise the stakes'. raise the stakes. a. to increase the amount of money or valuables hazarded in a gambling game. b. to increase the costs, risks, or considerations involved in taking an action or reaching a conclusion. the Libyan allegations raised the stakes in the propaganda war between Libya and the United States. stake.
Because ... they both raised Cain.. This statement makes a pun on raise, meaning bring up or nurturing.. The two variants, alluding to bringing hell or the devil up to this world, are older, the first from about 1700, the second from about 1800.