break Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun some abrupt occurrence that interrupts an ongoing activity
    interruption.
    • the telephone is an annoying interruption
    • there was a break in the action when a player was hurt
  2. noun an unexpected piece of good luck
    good luck; happy chance.
    • he finally got his big break
  3. noun (geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other
    fault; geological fault; faulting; fracture; shift.
    • they built it right over a geological fault
    • he studied the faulting of the earth's crust
  4. noun a personal or social separation (as between opposing factions)
    rift; severance; falling out; breach; rupture.
    • they hoped to avoid a break in relations
  5. noun a pause from doing something (as work)
    time out; recess; respite.
    • we took a 10-minute break
    • he took time out to recuperate
  6. noun the act of breaking something
    breakage; breaking.
    • the breakage was unavoidable
  7. noun a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
    intermission; pause; suspension; interruption.
  8. noun breaking of hard tissue such as bone
    fracture.
    • it was a nasty fracture
    • the break seems to have been caused by a fall
  9. noun the occurrence of breaking
    • the break in the dam threatened the valley
  10. noun an abrupt change in the tone or register of the voice (as at puberty or due to emotion)
    • then there was a break in her voice
  11. noun the opening shot that scatters the balls in billiards or pool
  12. noun (tennis) a score consisting of winning a game when your opponent was serving
    break of serve.
    • he was up two breaks in the second set
  13. noun an act of delaying or interrupting the continuity
    interruption; gap; disruption.
    • it was presented without commercial breaks
    • there was a gap in his account
  14. noun a sudden dash
    • he made a break for the open door
  15. noun any frame in which a bowler fails to make a strike or spare
    open frame.
    • the break in the eighth frame cost him the match
  16. noun an escape from jail
    prison-breaking; jailbreak; breakout; prisonbreak; gaolbreak.
    • the breakout was carefully planned
  17. verb terminate
    interrupt.
    • She interrupted her pregnancy
    • break a lucky streak
    • break the cycle of poverty
  18. verb become separated into pieces or fragments
    split up; fall apart; come apart; separate.
    • The figurine broke
    • The freshly baked loaf fell apart
  19. verb render inoperable or ineffective
    • You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!
  20. verb ruin completely
    bust.
    • He busted my radio!
  21. verb destroy the integrity of; usually by force; cause to separate into pieces or fragments
    • He broke the glass plate
    • She broke the match
  22. verb act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises
    go against; infract; violate; offend; breach; transgress.
    • offend all laws of humanity
    • violate the basic laws or human civilization
    • break a law
    • break a promise
  23. verb move away or escape suddenly
    break away; break out.
    • The horses broke from the stable
    • Three inmates broke jail
    • Nobody can break out--this prison is high security
  24. verb scatter or part
    • The clouds broke after the heavy downpour
  25. verb force out or release suddenly and often violently something pent up
    erupt; burst.
    • break into tears
    • erupt in anger
  26. verb prevent completion
    stop; discontinue; break off.
    • stop the project
    • break off the negotiations
  27. verb enter someone's (virtual or real) property in an unauthorized manner, usually with the intent to steal or commit a violent act
    break in.
    • Someone broke in while I was on vacation
    • They broke into my car and stole my radio!
    • who broke into my account last night?
  28. verb make submissive, obedient, or useful
    break in.
    • The horse was tough to break
    • I broke in the new intern
  29. verb fail to agree with; be in violation of; as of rules or patterns
    go against; violate.
    • This sentence violates the rules of syntax
  30. verb surpass in excellence
    better.
    • She bettered her own record
    • break a record
  31. verb make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret
    disclose; reveal; unwrap; bring out; expose; let on; discover; divulge; let out; give away.
    • The auction house would not disclose the price at which the van Gogh had sold
    • The actress won't reveal how old she is
    • bring out the truth
    • he broke the news to her
    • unwrap the evidence in the murder case
  32. verb come into being
    • light broke over the horizon
    • Voices broke in the air
  33. verb stop operating or functioning
    die; give out; give way; go; go bad; conk out; fail; break down.
    • The engine finally went
    • The car died on the road
    • The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town
    • The coffee maker broke
    • The engine failed on the way to town
    • her eyesight went after the accident
  34. verb interrupt a continued activity
    break away.
    • She had broken with the traditional patterns
  35. verb make a rupture in the ranks of the enemy or one's own by quitting or fleeing
    • The ranks broke
  36. verb curl over and fall apart in surf or foam, of waves
    • The surf broke
  37. verb lessen in force or effect
    damp; weaken; dampen; soften.
    • soften a shock
    • break a fall
  38. verb be broken in
    • If the new teacher won't break, we'll add some stress
  39. verb come to an end
    • The heat wave finally broke yesterday
  40. verb vary or interrupt a uniformity or continuity
    • The flat plain was broken by tall mesas
  41. verb cause to give up a habit
    • She finally broke herself of smoking cigarettes
  42. verb give up
    • break cigarette smoking
  43. verb come forth or begin from a state of latency
    • The first winter storm broke over New York
  44. verb happen or take place
    • Things have been breaking pretty well for us in the past few months
  45. verb cause the failure or ruin of
    • His peccadilloes finally broke his marriage
    • This play will either make or break the playwright
  46. verb invalidate by judicial action
    • The will was broken
  47. verb discontinue an association or relation; go different ways
    break up; separate; split up; part; split.
    • The business partners broke over a tax question
    • The couple separated after 25 years of marriage
    • My friend and I split up
  48. verb assign to a lower position; reduce in rank
    bump; demote; relegate; kick downstairs.
    • She was demoted because she always speaks up
    • He was broken down to Sergeant
  49. verb reduce to bankruptcy
    smash; ruin; bankrupt.
    • My daughter's fancy wedding is going to break me!
    • The slump in the financial markets smashed him
  50. verb change directions suddenly
  51. verb emerge from the surface of a body of water
    • The whales broke
  52. verb break down, literally or metaphorically
    collapse; founder; give; give way; cave in; fall in.
    • The wall collapsed
    • The business collapsed
    • The dam broke
    • The roof collapsed
    • The wall gave in
    • The roof finally gave under the weight of the ice
  53. verb do a break dance
    break-dance; break dance.
    • Kids were break-dancing at the street corner
  54. verb exchange for smaller units of money
    • I had to break a $100 bill just to buy the candy
  55. verb destroy the completeness of a set of related items
    break up.
    • The book dealer would not break the set
  56. verb make the opening shot that scatters the balls
  57. verb separate from a clinch, in boxing
    • The referee broke the boxers
  58. verb go to pieces
    wear out; fall apart; wear; bust.
    • The lawn mower finally broke
    • The gears wore out
    • The old chair finally fell apart completely
  59. verb break a piece from a whole
    snap off; break off.
    • break a branch from a tree
  60. verb become punctured or penetrated
    • The skin broke
  61. verb pierce or penetrate
    • The blade broke her skin
  62. verb be released or become known; of news
    get around; get out.
    • News of her death broke in the morning
  63. verb cease an action temporarily
    intermit; pause.
    • We pause for station identification
    • let's break for lunch
  64. verb interrupt the flow of current in
    • break a circuit
  65. verb undergo breaking
    • The simple vowels broke in many Germanic languages
  66. verb find a flaw in
    • break an alibi
    • break down a proof
  67. verb find the solution or key to
    • break the code
  68. verb change suddenly from one tone quality or register to another
    • Her voice broke to a whisper when she started to talk about her children
  69. verb happen
    recrudesce; develop.
    • Report the news as it develops
    • These political movements recrudesce from time to time
  70. verb become fractured; break or crack on the surface only
    check; crack.
    • The glass cracked when it was heated
  71. verb crack; of the male voice in puberty
    • his voice is breaking--he should no longer sing in the choir
  72. verb fall sharply
    • stock prices broke
  73. verb fracture a bone of
    fracture.
    • I broke my foot while playing hockey
  74. verb diminish or discontinue abruptly
    • The patient's fever broke last night
  75. verb weaken or destroy in spirit or body
    • His resistance was broken
    • a man broken by the terrible experience of near-death

WordNet

Break transitive verb
Etymology
OE. breken, AS. brecan; akin to OS. brekan, D. breken, OHG. brehhan, G. brechen, Icel.braka to creak, Sw. braka, bräkka to crack, Dan. brække to break, Goth. brikan to break, L. frangere. Cf. Bray to pound, Breach, Fragile.
Wordforms
imperfect broke (obsolete Brake); past participle Broken (obsolete Broke); present participle & verbal noun Breaking
Definitions
  1. To strain apart; to sever by fracture; to divide with violence; as, to break a rope or chain; to break a seal; to break an axle; to break rocks or coal; to break a lock. Shak.
  2. To lay open as by breaking; to divide; as, to break a package of goods.
  3. To lay open, as a purpose; to disclose, divulge, or communicate.
    Katharine, break thy mind to me. Shak.
  4. To infringe or violate, as an obligation, law, or promise.
    Out, out, hyena! these are thy wonted arts . . . To break all faith, all vows, deceive, betray. Milton
  5. To interrupt; to destroy the continuity of; to dissolve or terminate; as, to break silence; to break one's sleep; to break one's journey.
    Go, release them, Ariel; My charms I'll break, their senses I'll restore. Shak.
  6. To destroy the completeness of; to remove a part from; as, to break a set.
  7. To destroy the arrangement of; to throw into disorder; to pierce; as, the cavalry were not able to break the British squares.
  8. To shatter to pieces; to reduce to fragments.
    The victim broke in pieces the musical instruments with which he had solaced the hours of captivity. Prescott.
  9. To exchange for other money or currency of smaller denomination; as, to break a five dollar bill.
  10. To destroy the strength, firmness, or consistency of; as, to break flax.
  11. To weaken or impair, as health, spirit, or mind.
    An old man, broken with the storms of state. Shak.
  12. To diminish the force of; to lessen the shock of, as a fall or blow.
    I'll rather leap down first, and break your fall. Dryden.
  13. To impart, as news or information; to broach; -- with to, and often with a modified word implying some reserve; as, to break the news gently to the widow; to break a purpose cautiously to a friend.
  14. To tame; to reduce to subjection; to make tractable; to discipline; as, to break a horse to the harness or saddle. "To break a colt." Spenser.
    Why, then thou canst not break her to the lute? Shak.
  15. To destroy the financial credit of; to make bankrupt; to ruin.
    With arts like these rich Matho, when he speaks, Attracts all fees, and little lawyers breaks. Dryden.
  16. To destroy the official character and standing of; to cashier; to dismiss.
    I see a great officer broken. Swift.
    With prepositions or adverbs: -- With an immediate object: - Syn. -- To dispart; rend; tear; shatter; batter; violate; infringe; demolish; destroy; burst; dislocate.
Break intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To come apart or divide into two or more pieces, usually with suddenness and violence; to part; to burst asunder.
  2. To open spontaneously, or by pressure from within, as a bubble, a tumor, a seed vessel, a bag.
    Else the bottle break, and the wine runneth out. Math. ix. 17.
  3. To burst forth; to make its way; to come to view; to appear; to dawn.
    The day begins to break, and night is fied. Shak.
    And from the turf a fountain broke, and gurgled at our feet. Wordswoorth.
  4. To burst forth violently, as a storm.
    The clouds are still above; and, while I speak, A second deluge o'er our head may break. Shak.
  5. To open up. to be scattered; t be dissipated; as, the clouds are breaking.
    At length the darkness begins to break. Macawlay.
  6. To become weakened in constitution or faculties; to lose health or strength.
    See how the dean begins to break; Poor gentleman he droops apace. Swift.
  7. To be crushed, or overwhelmed with sorrow or grief; as, my heart is breaking.
  8. To fall in business; to become bankrupt.
    He that puts all upon adventures doth oftentimes break, and come to poverty. Bacn.
  9. To make an abrupt or sudden change; to change the gait; as, to break into a run or gallop.
  10. To fail in musical quality; as, a singer's voice breaks when it is strained beyond its compass and a tone or note is not completed, but degenerates into an unmusical sound instead. Also, to change in tone, as a boy's voice at puberty.
  11. To fall out; to terminate friendship.
    To break upon the score of danger or expense is to be mean and narrow-spirited. Collier.
    With prepositions or adverbs: -
    Fear me not, man; I will not break away. Shak.
Break noun
Etymology
See Break, v. t., and cf. Brake (the instrument), Breach, Brack a crack.
Definitions
  1. An opening made by fracture or disruption.
  2. An interruption of continuity; change of direction; as, a break in a wall; a break in the deck of a ship. Specifically: (a) (Arch.) A projection or recess from the face of a displacement in the circuit, interrupting the electrical current.
  3. An interruption; a pause; as, a break in friendship; a break in the conversation.
  4. An interruption in continuity in writing or printing, as where there is an omission, an unfilled line, etc.
    All modern trash is Set forth with numerous breaks and dashes. Swift.
  5. The first appearing, as of light in the morning; the dawn; as, the break of day; the break of dawn.
  6. A large four-wheeled carriage, having a straight body and calash top, with the driver's seat in front and the footman's behind.
  7. A device for checking motion, or for measuring friction. See Brake, n. 9 & 10.
  8. (Teleg.) See Commutator.

Webster 1913