English
break
Pronunciation
  • enPR: brāk, IPA: /bɹeɪk/, [bɹ(ʷ)eɪ̯k]
  • enPR: brēk, IPA: /bɹiːk/
Etymology 1

From Middle English breken, from Old English brecan, from Proto-West Germanic *brekan, from Proto-Germanic *brekaną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg-.

Cognates of Germanic origin include Scots brek, Western Frisian brekke, Dutch breken, Low German breken, German brechen, French broyer, Gothic 𐌱𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽, Norwegian brek.

Also cognate with Albanian brishtë, Latin frangō, whence English fracture and other terms – fragile, frail, fraction, and fragment.

Verb

break (breaks, present participle breaking; simple past broke, past participle broken)

  1. (transitive, intransitive) To separate into two or more pieces, to fracture or crack, by a process that cannot easily be reversed for reassembly.
    If the vase falls to the floor, it might break.
    In order to tend to the accident victim, he will break the window of the car.
    1. (transitive, intransitive) To crack or fracture (bone) under a physical strain.
      His ribs broke under the weight of the rocks piled on his chest.
      She broke her neck.
      He slipped on the ice and broke his leg.
  2. (transitive) To divide (something, often money) into smaller units.
    Can you break a hundred-dollar bill for me?
    The wholesaler broke the container loads into palettes and boxes for local retailers.
  3. (transitive) To cause (a person or animal) to lose spirit or will; to crush the spirits of.
    Her child’s death broke Angela.
    Interrogators have used many forms of torture to break prisoners of war.
    The interrogator hoped to break her to get her testimony against her accomplices.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC ↗, Job 9:16–17 ↗:
      If I had called, and had answered me, yet would I not beleeue that he had hearkened vnto my voice: For he breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without cause.
    • 1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act IV, scene ii]:
      An old man, broken with the storms of state,
      Is come to lay his weary bones among ye;
      Give him a little earth for charity
    1. To turn an animal into a beast of burden.
      • 2002, John Fusco, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron:
        Colonel: See, gentlemen? Any horse could be broken.
      You have to break an elephant before you can use it as an animal of burden.
  4. (intransitive) To be crushed, or overwhelmed with sorrow or grief.
    My heart is breaking.
  5. (transitive) To interrupt; to destroy the continuity of; to dissolve or terminate.
    I’ve got to break this habit I have of biting my nails.
    to break silence; to break one's sleep; to break one’s journey
    I had won four games in a row, but now you've broken my streak of luck.
    • 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act V, scene i]:
      Go, release them, Ariel; / My charms I'll break, their senses I'll restore.
    1. (transitive, theatre) To end the run of (a play).
      • 1958, Walter Macqueen-Pope, St. James's: Theatre of Distinction, page 134:
        In July Alexander broke the run and went on tour, as was his custom. He believed in keeping in touch with provincial audiences and how wise he was!
      • 1986, Kurt Gänzl, The British Musical Theatre: 1865-1914, page 610:
        After Camberwell he broke the play's season and brought it back in the autumn with a few revisions and a noticeably strengthened cast but without any special success.
  6. (transitive) To ruin financially.
    The recession broke some small businesses.
    • 1693, Decimus Junius Juvenalis, John Dryden, transl., “[The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis.] The Seventh Satyr”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […] Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. […], London: Printed for Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC ↗:
      With arts like these rich Matho, when he speaks, / Attracts all fees, and little lawyers breaks.
  7. (intransitive, obsolete) To fail in business; to go broke, to become bankrupt.
    • 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Riches”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC ↗:
      He that puts all upon adventures doth oftentimes break, and come to poverty.
    • 1791-92, Jane Austen, ‘A Collection of Letters’, Juvenilia:
      ‘I knew he was in some such low way—He broke did not he?’
  8. (finance, intransitive) Of prices on the stock exchange: to fall suddenly.
    • 2008, George Angell, Small Stocks for Big Profits:
      With a few exceptions, stock prices tend to follow the overall market averages. When you have a market decline, therefore, many stocks share the same overall chart pattern. Prices break and go sideways for a period of time.
  9. (transitive) To violate; to fail to adhere to.
    When you go to Vancouver, promise me you won't break the law.
    He broke his vows by cheating on his wife.
    to break one’s word
    Time travel would break the laws of physics.
    • 1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […].”, in Paradise Regain'd. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC ↗, page 48 ↗, lines 749–751:
      Out, out Hyæna; theſe are thy wonted arts, [...] To break all faith, all vows, deceive, betray,
  10. (intransitive, of a fever) To go down, in terms of temperature, indicating that the most dangerous part of the illness has passed.
    Susan's fever broke at about 3 AM, and the doctor said the worst was over.
  11. (intransitive, of a spell of settled weather) To end.
    The forecast says the hot weather will break by midweek.
  12. (intransitive, of a storm) To begin or end.
    We ran to find shelter before the storm broke.
    Around midday the storm broke, and the afternoon was calm and sunny.
  13. (intransitive, of morning, dawn, day etc.) To arrive.
    Morning has broken.
    The day broke crisp and clear.
    • 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act II, scene ii]:
      The day begins to break, and night is fled.
  14. (transitive, gaming slang) To render (a game) unchallenging by altering its rules or exploiting loopholes or weaknesses in them in a way that gives a player an unfair advantage.
    Changing the rules to let white have three extra queens would break chess.
    I broke the RPG by training every member of my party to cast fireballs as well as use swords.
  15. (transitive, intransitive) To stop, or to cause to stop, functioning properly or altogether.
    On the hottest day of the year the refrigerator broke.
    Did you two break the trolley by racing with it?
    1. (specifically, in programming) To cause (some feature of a program or piece of software) to stop functioning properly; to cause a regression.
      Adding 64-bit support broke backward compatibility with earlier versions.
  16. (transitive) To cause (a barrier) to no longer bar.
    to break a seal
    1. (specifically) To cause the shell of (an egg) to crack, so that the inside (yolk) is accessible.
    2. (specifically) To open (a safe) without using the correct key, combination or the like.
  17. (transitive) To destroy the arrangement of; to throw into disorder; to pierce.
    The cavalry were not able to break the British squares.
  18. (intransitive, of a wave of water) To collapse into surf, after arriving in shallow water.
  19. (intransitive) To burst forth; to make its way; to come into view.
    • 1717, John Dryden, “Book I. [The Gyants War.]”, in Ovid's Metamorphoses in Fifteen Books. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC ↗, page 16 ↗:
      The Clouds are ſtill above; and, while I ſpeak, / A ſecond deluge o'er our head may break.
    • 1800, William Wordsworth, The Fountain:
      And from the turf a fountain broke, / And gurgled at our feet.
  20. (intransitive) To interrupt or cease one's work or occupation temporarily; to go on break.
    Let's break for lunch.
  21. (transitive) To interrupt (a fall) by inserting something so that the falling object does not (immediately) hit something else beneath.
    He survived the jump out the window because the bushes below broke his fall.
  22. (transitive, ergative) To disclose or make known an item of news, a band, etc.
    The newsman wanted to break a big story, something that would make him famous.
    I don’t know how to break this to you, but your cat is not coming back.
    When news of their divorce broke, …
    • 2010, Jon Kutner, Spencer Leigh, 1,000 UK Number One Hits:
      Herman's Hermits version of 'I'm Into Something Good' topped the UK charts and also broke the band in the States.
  23. (intransitive, of a sound) To become audible suddenly.
    • c. 1843, George Lippard, The Battle-Day of Germantown, reprinted in Washington and His Generals "1776", page 45 :
      Like the crash of thunderbolts[...], the sound of musquetry broke over the lawn, [...].
  24. (transitive) To change a steady state abruptly.
    His coughing broke the silence.
    His turning on the lights broke the enchantment.
    With the mood broken, what we had been doing seemed pretty silly.
  25. (transitive, with for) To (attempt to) disengage and flee to; to make a run for.
  26. (copulative, informal) To suddenly become.
    Things began breaking bad for him when his parents died.
    The arrest was standard, when suddenly the suspect broke ugly.
  27. (intransitive, of a male voice) To become deeper at puberty.
  28. (intransitive, of a voice) To alter in type due to emotion or strain: in men, generally to go up, in women, sometimes to go down; to crack.
    His voice breaks when he gets emotional.
  29. (transitive) To surpass or do better than (a specific number); to do better than (a record), setting a new record.
    He broke the men’s 100-meter record.
    I can’t believe she broke 3 under par!
    The policeman broke sixty on a residential street in his hurry to catch the thief.
  30. (sports and games):
    1. (transitive, tennis) To win a game (against one's opponent) as receiver.
      He needs to break serve to win the match.
    2. (intransitive, billiards, snooker, pool) To make the first shot; to scatter the balls from the initial neat arrangement.
      Is it your or my turn to break?
    3. (transitive, backgammon) To remove one of the two men on (a point).
  31. (transitive, military, most often in the passive tense) To demote; to reduce the military rank of.
  32. (transitive) To end (a connection); to disconnect.
    The referee ordered the boxers to break the clinch.
    The referee broke the boxers’ clinch.
    I couldn’t hear a thing he was saying, so I broke the connection and called him back.
  33. (intransitive, of an emulsion) To demulsify.
  34. (intransitive, sports) To counter-attack.
  35. (transitive, obsolete) To lay open, as a purpose; to disclose, divulge, or communicate.
    • 1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act V, scene ii]:
      Katharine, break thy mind to me.
  36. (intransitive) To become weakened in constitution or faculties; to lose health or strength.
    • 1731, Verses on His Own Death, Jonathan Swift:
      See how the dean begins to break; / Poor gentleman he droops apace.
  37. (transitive) To destroy the strength, firmness, or consistency of.
    to break flax
  38. (transitive) To destroy the official character and standing of; to cashier; to dismiss.
    • January 11, 1711, Jonathan Swift, The Examiner No. 24
      when I see a great officer broke.
  39. (intransitive) To make an abrupt or sudden change; to change gait.
    to break into a run or gallop
  40. (intransitive, archaic) To fall out; to terminate friendship.
    • c. 1700 Jeremy Collier, On Friendship
      To break upon the score of danger or expense is to be mean and narrow-spirited.
  41. (computing) To terminate the execution of a program before normal completion.
  42. (programming) To suspend the execution of a program during debugging so that the state of the program can be investigated.
  43. (computing) To cause, or allow the occurrence of, a line break.
    zero-width non-breaking space
Conjugation
Conjugation of break

infinitive (to) break
present tense past tense
1st-person singular break broke
2nd-person singular

 break, breakest†

 broke, brokest†
3rd-person singular

 breaks, breaketh†

 broke
plural

 break

subjunctive

 break

broke
imperative

 break

—
participles

 breaking

 broken

†Archaic or obsolete.

Synonyms Antonyms Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations
  • German: einen Break machen
Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Noun

break (plural breaks)

  1. An instance of breaking something into two or more pieces.
    Synonyms: split
    The femur has a clean break and so should heal easily.
  2. A physical space that opens up in something or between two things.
    Synonyms: breach, gap, space, Thesaurus:interspace, Thesaurus:hole
    The sun came out in a break in the clouds.
    He waited minutes for a break in the traffic to cross the highway.
  3. An interruption of continuity; departure from or rupture with.
  4. A rest or pause, usually from work.
    Synonyms: time-out, Thesaurus:pause
    Let’s take a five-minute break.
    1. (UK, education) A time for students to talk or play between lessons.
      Synonyms: playtime, recess
    2. A scheduled interval of days or weeks between periods of school instruction; a holiday.
      winter break, spring break
  5. A short holiday.
    Synonyms: day off, time off, Thesaurus:vacation
    a weekend break on the Isle of Wight
  6. A temporary split with a romantic partner.
    I think we need a break.
  7. An interval or intermission between two parts of a performance, for example a theatre show, broadcast, or sports game.
  8. A significant change in circumstance, attitude, perception, or focus of attention.
    big break
    lucky break, bad break
  9. (finance) A sudden fall in prices on the stock exchange.
    • 1947, Reports of the Tax Court of the United States, volume 8, page 459:
      Following the invasion of France by the Germans in May of 1940, the securities markets experienced a break in prices.
  10. The beginning (of the morning).
    Synonyms: crack of dawn, Thesaurus:dawn
    daybreak
    at the break of day
  11. An act of escaping.
    to make a break for it; to make a break for the door
    It was a clean break.
    prison break
  12. (computing) The separation between lines, paragraphs or pages of a written text.
    • 2001, Nan Barber, David Reynolds, Office 2001 for Macintosh: The Missing Manual, page 138:
      No matter how much text you add above the break, the text after the break will always appear at the top of a new page.
  13. (computing) A keystroke or other signal that causes a program to terminate or suspend execution.
  14. (programming) Short for breakpoint.
  15. (British, weather) A change, particularly the end of a spell of persistent good or bad weather.
  16. (sports and games):
    1. (tennis) A game won by the receiving player(s).
    2. (billiards, snooker, pool) The first shot in a game of billiards.
    3. (snooker) The number of points scored by one player in one visit to the table.
    4. (soccer) The counter-attack.
    5. (golf) The curve imparted to the ball's motion on the green due to slope or grass texture.
    6. (surfing) A place where waves break (that is, where waves pitch or spill forward creating white water).
      The final break in the Greenmount area is Kirra Point.
    7. (horse racing) The start of a horse race.
      • 1999, Jay Hovdey, Cigar: America's Horse, page 63:
        Cigar was distracted at the break and let his five opponents get the jump.
      • 2010, John Alexander, Exotic Wagering the Winning Way, page 60:
        Perhaps it stumbles to its knees at the break, effectively losing the race at the outset.
  17. (dated) A large four-wheeled carriage, having a straight body and calash top, with the driver's seat in front and the footman's behind.
  18. Alternative form of brake
  19. (equitation) A sharp bit or snaffle.
    • 1576, George Gascoigne, The Steele Glas:
      Pampered jades […] which need nor break nor bit.
  20. (music) A short section of music, often between verses, in which some performers stop while others continue.
    The fiddle break was amazing; it was a pity the singer came back in on the wrong note.
    • 1937, Ivan T. Sanderson, Animal Treasure, page 233:
      The effect was weird, because with that intuitive sense possessed by the African, every drummer knew exactly when the “breaks” were coming, and whole banks of bass drums would drop out precisely on the beat.
  21. (music) The point in the musical scale at which a woodwind instrument is designed to overblow, that is, to move from its lower to its upper register.
    Crossing the break smoothly is one of the first lessons the young clarinettist needs to master.
  22. (music) The transition area between a singer's vocal registers; the passaggio.
  23. (geography, mostly, in the plural) An area along a river that features steep banks, bluffs, or gorges (e.g., Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, US).
  24. (obsolete, slang) An error. [late 19th–early 20th c.]
Translations Translations Translations Translations
  • French: pause
  • German: Beziehungspause
  • Portuguese: tempo
Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations
  • German: , Eröffnungsstoß, Anstoß
Translations Translations Noun

break (plural breaks)

  1. (music) A section of extended repetition of the percussion break to a song, created by a hip-hop DJ as rhythmic dance music.
Verb

break (breaks, present participle breaking; simple past and past participle breaked)

  1. (music, slang) To B-boy; to breakdance.
  2. (rare, mainly historical or a misspelling) To brake.
Related terms

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