1
: transient cessation of respiration
especially
: sleep apnea
2
Examples of apnea in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The results were striking, showing a significant association between apnea and temperature in 29 of the countries studied, or well more than half.
—
Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 19 May 2025
So if women are usually just having apneas during REM (and not in non-REM), their average will be skewed lower.
—Erica Sloan, SELF, 25 June 2025
Meanwhile, other studies didn’t determine any evidence to support taping your mouth for reducing sleep-disordered breathing, snoring, or apnea.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 21 May 2025
Those younger than a year old can develop apnea (potentially deadly pauses in breathing), pneumonia, convulsions and encephalopathy (brain disease).
—Tanya Lewis, Scientific American, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for apnea
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Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 19 May 2025
So if women are usually just having apneas during REM (and not in non-REM), their average will be skewed lower.
—Erica Sloan, SELF, 25 June 2025
Meanwhile, other studies didn’t determine any evidence to support taping your mouth for reducing sleep-disordered breathing, snoring, or apnea.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 21 May 2025
Those younger than a year old can develop apnea (potentially deadly pauses in breathing), pneumonia, convulsions and encephalopathy (brain disease).
—Tanya Lewis, Scientific American, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for apnea
Cite this Entry
“Apnea.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/apnea. Accessed 20 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
apnea
noun
ap·nea
1
: transient cessation of respiration whether normal (as in hibernating animals) or abnormal (as that caused by certain drugs) see sleep apnea
2
: asphyxia
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