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Webster 1913 Edition

Broke

Broke

,
Verb.
I.
[See
Broker
, and cf.
Brook
.]
1.
To transact business for another.
[R.]
Brome.
2.
To act as procurer in love matters; to pimp.
[Obs.]
We do want a certain necessary woman to
broke
between them, Cupid said.
Fanshawe.
And
brokes
with all that can in such a suit
Corrupt the tender honor of a maid.
Shakespeare

Broke

(brōk)
,
imp.
&
p.
p.
of
Break
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Broke

BROKE

,
Verb.
T.
[L. fruor, for frucor, whence fructus, fruit. See Practice.]
To transact business for another in trade; to act as agent in buying and selling, and other commercial business; to transact business by an agent. [This word is little used, at least in America; and English writers seem to have used it in a low sense.]

BROKE

, pret. and pp. of break.

Definition 2024

broke

broke

English

Pronunciation

Verb

broke

  1. simple past tense of break
  2. (archaic, nonstandard or poetic) past participle of break
    • 1999 October 3, J. Stewart Burns, "Mars University", Futurama, season 2, episode 2, Fox Broadcasting Company
      Guenther: I guess the hat must have broke my fall.

Adjective

broke ‎(comparative more broke, superlative most broke)

  1. (informal) Lacking money; bankrupt
  2. (informal) Broken.
  3. (nautical) Demoted, deprived of a commission.
    He was broke and rendered unfit to serve His Majesty at sea.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

Noun

broke ‎(plural brokes)

  1. (papermaking) Paper or board that is discarded and repulped during the manufacturing process.
    • 1880, James Dunbar, The Practical Papermaker: A Complete Guide to the Manufacture of Paper, page 12:
      If the broke accumulates, a larger proportion can be used in making coloured papers, otherwise the above quantity is sufiicient.
    • 1914, The World's Paper Trade Review, Volume 62, page 204:
      Presumably, most of the brokes and waste were used up in this manner, and during the manufacture of the coarse stuff little or no attention was paid to either cleanliness or colour.
    • 2014 September 25, Judge Diane Wood, NCR Corp. v. George A. Whiting Paper Co.:
      These mills purchase broke from other paper mills through middlemen and use it to make paper.

Etymology 3

Back-formation from broker.

Verb

broke ‎(third-person singular simple present brokes, present participle broking, simple past and past participle broked)

  1. To broker; to transact business for another.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Broome to this entry?)
  2. (obsolete) To act as procurer in love matters; to pimp.
    • Fanshawe
      We do want a certain necessary woman to broke between them, Cupid said.
    • Shakespeare
      And brokes with all that can in such a suit / Corrupt the tender honour of a maid.
Statistics
Most common English words before 1923: dinner · command · etc. · #771: broke · waiting · political · reading

Etymology

Ablauted form of break.

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