Take half a breath in the belfry (7)

I believe the answer is:

inspire

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'take half a breath' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.

'in the belfry' is the wordplay.
'the belfry' becomes 'spire' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'in'+'spire'='INSPIRE'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for inspire that I've seen before include "Give rise to; breath in" , "Animate (with feeling)" , "Arouse, prompt (to new heights)" , "Breath in; animate" , "Galvanize" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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