[
US
/ˈbɹeɪk/
]
[ UK /bɹˈeɪk/ ]
[ UK /bɹˈeɪk/ ]
VERB
-
enter someone's (virtual or real) property in an unauthorized manner, usually with the intent to steal or commit a violent act
They broke into my car and stole my radio!
Someone broke in while I was on vacation
who broke into my account last night? -
cause to give up a habit
She finally broke herself of smoking cigarettes -
break down, literally or metaphorically
The wall collapsed
The business collapsed
The wall gave in
The roof finally gave under the weight of the ice
The dam broke
The roof collapsed -
undergo breaking
The simple vowels broke in many Germanic languages -
prevent completion
break off the negotiations
stop the project -
separate from a clinch, in boxing
The referee broke the boxers -
cause the failure or ruin of
This play will either make or break the playwright
His peccadilloes finally broke his marriage -
become separated into pieces or fragments
The figurine broke
The freshly baked loaf fell apart -
be released or become known; of news
News of her death broke in the morning -
be broken in
If the new teacher won't break, we'll add some stress -
scatter or part
The clouds broke after the heavy downpour -
become punctured or penetrated
The skin broke -
move away or escape suddenly
The horses broke from the stable
Nobody can break out--this prison is high security
Three inmates broke jail -
crack; of the male voice in puberty
his voice is breaking--he should no longer sing in the choir -
become fractured; break or crack on the surface only
The glass cracked when it was heated -
find a flaw in
break an alibi
break down a proof -
render inoperable or ineffective
You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart! -
discontinue an association or relation; go different ways
My friend and I split up
The couple separated after 25 years of marriage
The business partners broke over a tax question -
emerge from the surface of a body of water
The whales broke -
exchange for smaller units of money
I had to break a $100 bill just to buy the candy -
cease an action temporarily
let's break for lunch
We pause for station identification -
curl over and fall apart in surf or foam, of waves
The surf broke -
fracture a bone of
I broke my foot while playing hockey -
vary or interrupt a uniformity or continuity
The flat plain was broken by tall mesas -
change suddenly from one tone quality or register to another
Her voice broke to a whisper when she started to talk about her children -
make submissive, obedient, or useful
I broke in the new intern
The horse was tough to break -
invalidate by judicial action
The will was broken -
assign to a lower position; reduce in rank
He was broken down to Sergeant
She was demoted because she always speaks up -
fail to agree with; be in violation of; as of rules or patterns
This sentence violates the rules of syntax -
interrupt the flow of current in
break a circuit -
come into being
Voices broke in the air
light broke over the horizon -
lessen in force or effect
soften a shock
break a fall -
destroy the completeness of a set of related items
The book dealer would not break the set -
act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises
offend all laws of humanity
break a law
violate the basic laws or human civilization
break a promise -
destroy the integrity of; usually by force; cause to separate into pieces or fragments
She broke the match
He broke the glass plate - change directions suddenly
-
terminate
break the cycle of poverty
She interrupted her pregnancy
break a lucky streak -
give up
break cigarette smoking -
surpass in excellence
break a record
She bettered her own record -
come to an end
The heat wave finally broke yesterday -
weaken or destroy in spirit or body
a man broken by the terrible experience of near-death
His resistance was broken -
happen
Report the news as it develops
These political movements recrudesce from time to time -
make a rupture in the ranks of the enemy or one's own by quitting or fleeing
The ranks broke -
come forth or begin from a state of latency
The first winter storm broke over New York -
pierce or penetrate
The blade broke her skin - make the opening shot that scatters the balls
-
force out or release suddenly and often violently something pent up
erupt in anger
break into tears
break into tears -
do a break dance
Kids were break-dancing at the street corner -
make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret
unwrap the evidence in the murder case
he broke the news to her
The newspaper uncovered the President's illegal dealings
bring out the truth
The actress won't reveal how old she is
The auction house would not disclose the price at which the van Gogh had sold -
diminish or discontinue abruptly
The patient's fever broke last night -
stop operating or functioning
The engine finally went
The coffee maker broke
The engine failed on the way to town
The car died on the road
her eyesight went after the accident
The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town -
interrupt a continued activity
She had broken with the traditional patterns -
reduce to bankruptcy
My daughter's fancy wedding is going to break me!
The slump in the financial markets smashed him -
fall sharply
stock prices broke -
happen or take place
Things have been breaking pretty well for us in the past few months -
ruin completely
He busted my radio! -
break a piece from a whole
break a branch from a tree -
find the solution or key to
break the code -
go to pieces
The gears wore out
The old chair finally fell apart completely
The lawn mower finally broke
NOUN
-
an unexpected piece of good luck
he finally got his big break -
a personal or social separation (as between opposing factions)
they hoped to avoid a break in relations -
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 -
an act of delaying or interrupting the continuity
there was a gap in his account
it was presented without commercial breaks -
(tennis) a score consisting of winning a game when your opponent was serving
he was up two breaks in the second set -
any frame in which a bowler fails to make a strike or spare
the break in the eighth frame cost him the match -
some abrupt occurrence that interrupts an ongoing activity
there was a break in the action when a player was hurt
the telephone is an annoying interruption - a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
-
an escape from jail
the breakout was carefully planned -
a sudden dash
he made a break for the open door -
the occurrence of breaking
the break in the dam threatened the valley -
the act of breaking something
the breakage was unavoidable - the opening shot that scatters the balls in billiards or pool
-
breaking of hard tissue such as bone
it was a nasty fracture
the break seems to have been caused by a fall -
(geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other
they built it right over a geological fault
he studied the faulting of the earth's crust -
a pause from doing something (as work)
we took a 10-minute break
he took time out to recuperate
How To Use break In A Sentence
- Assuming that 15 pound breaking strain line is used, an angler using monofilament might have to use a six or eight ounce sinker and use a 20 lb class rod to carry that sinker weight.
- It didn't break, but George was bleeding and had copped a bit of a shiner.
- ‘Break, break, break,’ for instance, is a bitter poem on unrecompensed, pointless loss, but it achieves its power and makes its point very indirectly, largely through structural implications.
- “And now, Sir John de Walton,” he said, “methinks you are a little churlish in not ordering me some breakfast, after I have been all night engaged in your affairs; and a cup of muscadel would, I think, be no bad induction to a full consideration of this perplexed matter.” Castle Dangerous
- They establish a colony on Ragol but this perfect planet soon unleashes a few surprises and all hell breaks loose.
- When things break, it's not the actual breaking that prevents them from getting back together again. It's because a little piece gets lost - the two remaining ends couldn't fit together even if they wanted to. The whole shape has changed. John Green
- I used to break-dance really badly. Times, Sunday Times
- A leisurely breakfast - even the motel manager was moaning about the way the Italians "hogged" the muffins this morning and drank cups of milk instead of putting it on their bran flakes! TravelPod.com TravelStream™ — Recent Entries at TravelPod.com
- Don't break in when he is telling the story.
- Martin did well to recover from the onslaught to go a break up in the third set.
