Break (Verb)
Meaning 1
Stop operating or functioning; "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".
Classification
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc..
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Meaning 2
Interrupt the flow of current in; "break a circuit".
Classification
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing.
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Meaning 3
Crack; of the male voice in puberty; "his voice is breaking--he should no longer sing in the choir".
Classification
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc..
Hypernyms
Meaning 4
Invalidate by judicial action; "The will was broken".
Classification
Verbs of political and social activities and events.
Hypernyms
Meaning 5
Cease an action temporarily; "We pause for station identification"; "let's break for lunch".
Classification
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing.
Examples
- We need to break for a few minutes to recharge our batteries.
- They'll break for commercial during the broadcast, then continue with the show.
- Let's break for dinner and meet back here in an hour.
- The team will break for a short recess to strategize their next move.
- The workers will break for their hourly break and then resume their tasks.
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Meaning 6
Act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises; "offend all laws of humanity"; "violate the basic laws or human civilization"; "break a law"; "break a promise".
Classification
Verbs of political and social activities and events.
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Meaning 7
Destroy the integrity of; usually by force; cause to separate into pieces or fragments; "He broke the glass plate"; "She broke the match".
Classification
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc..
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Meaning 8
Diminish or discontinue abruptly; "The patient's fever broke last night".
Classification
Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care.
Hypernyms
Meaning 9
Force out or release suddenly and often violently something pent up; "break into tears"; "erupt in anger".
Classification
Verbs of feeling.
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Hypernyms
Meaning 10
Fall sharply; "stock prices broke".
Classification
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc..
Hypernyms
Meaning 11
Exchange for smaller units of money; "I had to break a $100 bill just to buy the candy".
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
Hypernyms
Meaning 12
Become separated into pieces or fragments; "The figurine broke"; "The freshly baked loaf fell apart".
Classification
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc..
Examples
- The delicate vase fell off the table and broke into a hundred shards.
- If you bend the ruler too far it will break in the middle.
- When the rope was pulled too tightly, it suddenly break and dropped the heavy load.
- The toothpick was too brittle and it broke when she tried to snap it in half.
- Dried-out crackers are prone to break when handled roughly or exposed to air for too long.
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Meaning 13
Move away or escape suddenly; "The horses broke from the stable"; "Three inmates broke jail"; "Nobody can break out--this prison is high security".
Classification
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming.
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Meaning 14
Reduce to bankruptcy; "My daughter's fancy wedding is going to break me!"; "The slump in the financial markets smashed him".
Classification
Verbs of buying, selling, owning.
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Hypernyms
Meaning 15
Render inoperable or ineffective; "You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!".
Classification
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc..
Related Words
Meaning 17
Be released or become known; of news; "News of her death broke in the morning".
Classification
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing.
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Meaning 18
Assign to a lower position; reduce in rank; "She was demoted because she always speaks up"; "He was broken down to Sergeant".
Classification
Verbs of political and social activities and events.
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Meaning 19
Find a flaw in; "break an alibi"; "break down a proof".
Classification
Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting.
Hypernyms
Meaning 20
Make submissive, obedient, or useful; "The horse was tough to break"; "I broke in the new intern".
Classification
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc..
Examples
- It took months to break the new employee into the company's workflow and get them accustomed to its policies.
- The experience as an intern helped break me into the corporate world and prepare me for a full-time job.
- It wasn't easy to break the new puppy, but eventually, with patience and consistency, it learned to behave.
- She spent years working with the difficult horse, trying to break it and make it suitable for riding lessons.
- After just a few days of training, the instructors were able to break the new soldiers and have them following orders like veterans.
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Meaning 21
Break a piece from a whole; "break a branch from a tree".
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
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Meaning 22
Pierce or penetrate; "The blade broke her skin".
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
Hypernyms
Meaning 23
Prevent completion; "stop the project"; "break off the negotiations".
Classification
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc..
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Hypernyms
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Meaning 24
Curl over and fall apart in surf or foam, of waves; "The surf broke".
Classification
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming.
Hypernyms
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Meaning 25
Make a rupture in the ranks of the enemy or one's own by quitting or fleeing; "The ranks broke".
Classification
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming.
Hypernyms
Meaning 26
Break down, literally or metaphorically; "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".
Classification
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming.
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Meaning 27
Become fractured; break or crack on the surface only; "The glass cracked when it was heated".
Classification
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc..
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Meaning 28
Discontinue an association or relation; go different ways; "The business partners broke over a tax question"; "The couple separated after 25 years of marriage"; "My friend and I split up".
Classification
Verbs of political and social activities and events.
Synonyms
Hyponyms
- Give The Gate
- Disassociate
- Break With
- Split Up
- Splinter
- Disunify
- Give The Bounce
- Divorce
- Dissociate
- Disunite
- Break
- Secede
- Break Apart
- Give The Axe
- Break Away
Related Words
Meaning 29
Terminate; "She interrupted her pregnancy"; "break a lucky streak"; "break the cycle of poverty".
Classification
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc..
Examples
- The company was struggling financially and decided to break their contract with the supplier.
- She decided to break her engagement due to irreconcilable differences with her fiancé.
- The team's winning streak was bound to break eventually as they faced off against a tough opponent.
- Community programs aim to break the cycle of poverty by providing job training and education.
- If her mental health doesn't improve, she may need to take a break from her studies to focus on recovery.
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Meaning 30
Become punctured or penetrated; "The skin broke".
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
Meaning 31
Find the solution or key to; "break the code".
Classification
Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting.
Hypernyms
Meaning 32
Go to pieces; "The lawn mower finally broke"; "The gears wore out"; "The old chair finally fell apart completely".
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
Examples
- The machine break as soon as someone tried to use it incorrectly.
- The old toy broke into dozens of pieces after being dropped on the floor.
- Under the weight of all those heavy books the shelf finally gave way and its joints broke separating its sections.
- After years of constant wear and tear, the old zipper break rendering the jacket useless.
- She heard a strange noise from her grandfather clock before it suddenly breaks into multiple sections that fell to the floor.
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Meaning 33
Cause to give up a habit; "She finally broke herself of smoking cigarettes".
Classification
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations.
Examples
- She broke her addiction to social media after a 30-day detox plan.
- He finally broke himself of hitting the snooze button every morning.
- The therapy sessions helped the child break the habit of sucking her thumb.
- After years of trying, she broke her reliance on caffeine to start her day.
- The monk broke his fast only after he felt the true meaning of self-discipline.
Meaning 34
Separate from a clinch, in boxing; "The referee broke the boxers".
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
Examples
- The referee broke the boxers after they had been tied up for several seconds.
- When the fighters started to hold each other, the referee stepped in and broke them apart.
- The boxers were in a clinch, but the referee quickly broke them and told them to continue fighting.
- After a brief exchange of punches, the boxers clinched and the referee had to break them.
- In a crucial moment of the match, the referee broke the boxers apart, allowing one of them to gain a clear advantage.
Hypernyms
Meaning 35
Vary or interrupt a uniformity or continuity; "The flat plain was broken by tall mesas".
Classification
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations.
Hypernyms
Related Words
Meaning 36
Undergo breaking; "The simple vowels broke in many Germanic languages".
Classification
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing.
Hypernyms
Meaning 37
Give up; "break cigarette smoking".
Classification
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations.
Hypernyms
Meaning 38
Destroy the completeness of a set of related items; "The book dealer would not break the set".
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
Examples
- They couldn't sell the incomplete collection, so they decided not to break the set of rare coins.
- The art dealer refused to break the set of paintings for a lower price, even after several months of not selling.
- It's unlikely that they will break the set of antique vases, given the historical value of the collection as a whole.
- A decision was made to keep the set intact and not break the set of first edition books.
- She preferred not to break the set of vintage photographs and instead sold them together to a collector.
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Meaning 39
Fracture a bone of; "I broke my foot while playing hockey".
Classification
Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care.
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Meaning 40
Enter someone's (virtual or real) property in an unauthorized manner, usually with the intent to steal or commit a violent act; "Someone broke in while I was on vacation"; "They broke into my car and stole my radio!"; "who broke into my account last night?".
Classification
Verbs of political and social activities and events.
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Hypernyms
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Meaning 41
Interrupt a continued activity; "She had broken with the traditional patterns".
Classification
Verbs of political and social activities and events.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
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Meaning 42
Be broken in; "If the new teacher won't break, we'll add some stress".
Classification
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc..
Meaning 43
Happen; "Report the news as it develops"; "These political movements recrudesce from time to time".
Classification
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc..
Examples
- News of the government scandal is about to break anytime now and it will cause widespread outrage.
- When the news of her resignation finally breaks, there'll be many shocked reactions.
- Let's go live to our correspondent in the field to break the latest news on the unfolding crisis.
- Every few years the protests break out again as people continue to demand real change.
- A sudden development in the trial is about to break that will change the direction of the entire case.
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Meaning 44
Make the opening shot that scatters the balls.
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
Related Words
Meaning 45
Come to an end; "The heat wave finally broke yesterday".
Classification
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations.
Examples
- The storm finally broke after days of continuous rain.
- Her voice broke as she sang the emotional ballad.
- The news of her resignation broke suddenly on social media.
- The drought broke with the arrival of the monsoon season.
- The tension in the room broke when someone told a joke.
Hypernyms
Meaning 46
Come forth or begin from a state of latency; "The first winter storm broke over New York".
Classification
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations.
Hypernyms
Meaning 47
Weaken or destroy in spirit or body; "His resistance was broken"; "a man broken by the terrible experience of near-death".
Classification
Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care.
Meaning 48
Fail to agree with; be in violation of; as of rules or patterns; "This sentence violates the rules of syntax".
Classification
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations.
Synonyms
Hyponyms
Meaning 49
Cause the failure or ruin of; "His peccadilloes finally broke his marriage"; "This play will either make or break the playwright".
Classification
Verbs of political and social activities and events.
Examples
- Her addiction will break her family.
- The scandal could break the politician's career.
- His severe injury will break his chances of becoming a professional athlete.
- Their numerous conflicts will eventually break the partnership.
- The financial crisis could break the smaller businesses in the area.
Antonyms
Meaning 50
Happen or take place; "Things have been breaking pretty well for us in the past few months".
Classification
Verbs of political and social activities and events.
Hypernyms
Meaning 51
Come into being; "light broke over the horizon"; "Voices broke in the air".
Classification
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc..
Examples
- Tears broke in her eyes as she watched her child leave for college.
- The sun broke over the ocean, casting a warm glow over the beach.
- The sound of laughter broke in the silence, momentarily startling everyone.
- Sweat broke on his forehead as he exerted himself to finish the difficult task.
- A faint smile broke on her face, revealing a glimmer of her usual cheeriness.
Hypernyms
Meaning 52
Ruin completely; "He busted my radio!".
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
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Antonyms
Hypernyms
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Meaning 53
Change suddenly from one tone quality or register to another; "Her voice broke to a whisper when she started to talk about her children".
Classification
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc..
Hypernyms
Meaning 54
Scatter or part; "The clouds broke after the heavy downpour".
Classification
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming.
Hypernyms
Meaning 55
Lessen in force or effect; "soften a shock"; "break a fall".
Classification
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc..
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Hyponyms
Meaning 56
Surpass in excellence; "She bettered her own record"; "break a record".
Classification
Verbs of fighting, athletic activities.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Meaning 57
Emerge from the surface of a body of water; "The whales broke".
Classification
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming.
Meaning 58
Do a break dance; "Kids were break-dancing at the street corner".
Classification
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Meaning 59
Make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret; "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"; "The newspaper uncovered the President's illegal dealings".
Classification
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing.