Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Break

Break

(brāk)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp.
broke
(brōk)
, (
Obs.
Brake
);
p. p.
Broken
(brō′k’n)
, (
Obs.
Broke
);
p. pr. & vb. n.
Breaking
.]
[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
.]
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.
Shakespeare
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.
Shakespeare
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.
Shakespeare
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?
Shakespeare
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: –
To break down
.
(a)
To crush; to overwhelm;
as, to
break down
one's strength; to
break down
opposition
.
(b)
To remove, or open a way through, by breaking;
as, to
break down
a door or wall
.
–
To break in
.
(a)
To force in;
as, to
break in
a door
.
(b)
To train; to discipline;
as, a horse well
broken in
.
–
To break of
,
to rid of; to cause to abandon;
as, to
break
one
of
a habit
.
–
To break off
.
(a)
To separate by breaking;
as, to
break off
a twig
.
(b)
To stop suddenly; to abandon.
“Break off thy sins by righteousness.”
Dan. iv. 27.
–
To break open
,
to open by breaking.
“Open the door, or I will break it open.”
Shak.
–
To break out
,
to take or force out by breaking;
as, to
break out
a pane of glass
.
–
To break out a cargo
,
to unstow a cargo, so as to unload it easily.
–
To break through
.
(a)
To make an opening through, as, as by violence or the force of gravity; to pass violently through;
as,
to break through
the enemy's lines;
to break through
the ice
.
(b)
To disregard;
as,
to break through
the ceremony
.
–
To break up
.
(a)
To separate into parts; to plow (new or fallow ground).
“Break up this capon.”
Shak.
“Break up your fallow ground.”
Jer. iv. 3.
(b)
To dissolve; to put an end to.
“Break up the court.”
Shak.
–
To break
(one)
all up
,
to unsettle or disconcert completely; to upset.
[Colloq.]
With an immediate object: –
To break the back
.
(a)
To dislocate the backbone; hence, to disable totally.
(b)
To get through the worst part of;
as, to
break the back
of a difficult undertaking
.
–
To break bulk
,
to destroy the entirety of a load by removing a portion of it; to begin to unload; also, to transfer in detail, as from boats to cars.
–
To break a code
to discover a method to convert coded messages into the original understandable text.
–
To break cover
,
to burst forth from a protecting concealment, as game when hunted.
–
To break a deer
or
To break a stag
,
to cut it up and apportion the parts among those entitled to a share.
–
To break fast
,
to partake of food after abstinence. See
Breakfast
.
–
To break ground
.
(a)
To open the earth as for planting; to commence excavation, as for building, siege operations, and the like;
as, to
break ground
for a foundation, a canal, or a railroad
.
(b)
Fig.: To begin to execute any plan.
(c)
(Naut.)
To release the anchor from the bottom.
–
To break the heart
,
to crush or overwhelm (one) with grief.
–
To break a house
(Law)
,
to remove or set aside with violence and a felonious intent any part of a house or of the fastenings provided to secure it.
–
To break the ice
,
to get through first difficulties; to overcome obstacles and make a beginning; to introduce a subject.
–
To break jail
,
to escape from confinement in jail, usually by forcible means.
–
To break a jest
,
to utter a jest.
“Patroclus . . . the livelong day breaks scurril jests.”
Shak.
–
To break joints
,
to lay or arrange bricks, shingles, etc., so that the joints in one course shall not coincide with those in the preceding course.
–
To break a lance
,
to engage in a tilt or contest.
–
To break the neck
,
to dislocate the joints of the neck.
–
To break no squares
,
to create no trouble.
[Obs.]
–
To break a path
,
road
, etc.,
to open a way through obstacles by force or labor.
–
To break upon a wheel
,
to execute or torture, as a criminal by stretching him upon a wheel, and breaking his limbs with an iron bar; – a mode of punishment formerly employed in some countries.
–
To break wind
,
to give vent to wind from the anus.
Syn. – To dispart; rend; tear; shatter; batter; violate; infringe; demolish; destroy; burst; dislocate.

Break

(brāk)
,
Verb.
I.
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 fled.
Shakespeare
And from the turf a fountain
broke
,
and gurgled at our feet.
Wordsworth.
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
.
Dryden.
5.
To open up; to be scattered; to be dissipated;
as, the clouds are
breaking
.
At length the darkness begins to
break
.
Macaulay.
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: -
To break away
,
to disengage one's self abruptly; to come or go away against resistance.
Fear me not, man; I will not
break away
.
Shakespeare
He had
broken down
almost at the outset.
Thackeray.
–
To break forth
,
to issue; to come out suddenly, as sound, light, etc.
“Then shall thy light break forth as the morning.”
Isa. lviii. 8;
often with into in expressing or giving vent to one's feelings. “Break forth into singing, ye mountains.”
Isa. xliv. 23.
To break from
,
to go away from abruptly.
This radiant
from
the circling crowd he
broke
.
Dryden.
–
To break into
,
to enter by breaking;
as,
to break into
a house
.
–
To break in upon
,
to enter or approach violently or unexpectedly.
“This, this is he; softly awhile; let us not break in upon him.”
Milton.
–
To break loose
.
(a)
To extricate one's self forcibly.
“Who would not, finding way, break loose from hell?”
Milton.
(b)
To cast off restraint, as of morals or propriety.
–
To break off
.
(a)
To become separated by rupture, or with suddenness and violence.
(b)
To desist or cease suddenly.
“Nay, forward, old man; do not break off so.”
Shak.
–
To break off from
,
to desist from; to abandon, as a habit.
–
To break out
.
(a)
To burst forth; to escape from restraint; to appear suddenly, as a fire or an epidemic.
“For in the wilderness shall waters break out, and stream in the desert.”
Isa. xxxv. 6
(b)
To show itself in cutaneous eruptions; – said of a disease.
(c)
To have a rash or eruption on the akin; – said of a patient.
–
To break over
,
to overflow; to go beyond limits.
–
To break up
.
(a)
To become separated into parts or fragments; as, the ice break up in the rivers; the wreck will break up in the next storm.
(b)
To disperse.
“The company breaks up.”
I. Watts.
–
To break upon
,
to discover itself suddenly to; to dawn upon.
–
To break with
.
(a)
To fall out; to sever one's relations with; to part friendship.
“It can not be the Volsces dare break with us.”
Shak.
“If she did not intend to marry Clive, she should have broken with him altogether.”
Thackeray.
(b)
To come to an explanation; to enter into conference; to speak.
[Obs.]
“I will break with her and with her father.”
Shak.

Break

(brāk)
,
Noun.
[See
Break
,
Verb.
T.
, and cf.
Brake
(the instrument),
Breach
,
Brack
a crack.]
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 building.
(b)
(Elec.)
An opening or 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
,
Noun.
9 & 10.
8.
(Teleg.)
See
Commutator
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Break

BREAK

,
Verb.
T.
pret. broke, [brake.obs.] pp. broke or broken.
[L. frango, fregi, n casual; Heb.to break, to free or deliver, to separate.]
1.
To part or divide by force and violence, as a solid substance; to rend apart; as, to break a band; to break a thread or a cable.
2.
To burst or open by force.
The fountains of the earth were broke open.
3.
To divide by piercing or penetrating; to burst forth; as, the light breaks through the clouds.
4.
To make breaches or gaps by battering, as in a wall.
5.
To destroy, crush, weaken, or impair, as the human body or constitution.
6.
To sink; to appall or subdue; as, to break the spirits, or the passions.
7.
To crush; to shatter; to dissipate the strength of, as of an army.
8.
To weaken, or impair, as the faculties.
9.
To tame; to train to obedience; to make tractable; as, to break a horse.
10. To make bankrupt.
11. To discard, dismiss or cashier; as, to break an officer.
12. To crack, to part or divide, as the skin; to open, as an aposteme.
13. To violate, as a contract or promise, either by a positive act contrary to the promise, or by neglect or non-fulfillment.
14. To infringe or violate, as a law, or any moral obligation, either by a positive act or by an omission of what is required.
15. To stop; to interrupt; to cause to cease; as, to break conversation; to break sleep.
16. To intercept; to check; to lessen the force of; as, to break a fall, or a blow.
17. To separate; to part; as, to break company of friendship.
18. To dissolve any union; sometimes with off; as, to break off a connection.
19. To cause to abandon; to reform or cause to reform; as, to break one of ill habits or practices.
20. To open as a purpose; to propound something new; to make a first disclosure of opinions; as, to break one's mind.
21. To frustrate; to prevent.
If plagues or earthquakes break not heaven's design.
22. To take away; as, to break the whole staff of bread. Ps. 105.
23. To stretch; to strain; to rack; as, to break one on the wheel.
To break the back, to strain or dislocate the vertebers with too heavy a burden; also, to disable one's fortune.
To break bulk, to begin to unload.
To break a deer, to cut it up at table.
To breakfast, to eat the first meal in the day, but used as a compound word.
To break ground, to plow.
To break ground, to dig; to open trenches.
To break the heart, to afflict grievously; to cause great sorrow or grief; to depress with sorrow or despair.
To break a jest, to utter a jest unexpected.
To break the neck, to dislocate the joints of the neck.
To break off, to put a sudden stop to; to interrupt; to discontinue.
Break off thy sins by righteousness. Dan.4.
1.
To sever; to divide; as, to break off a twig.
To break sheer, in marine language. When a ship at anchor is in a position to keep clear of the anchor, but is forced by wind or current out of that position,she breaks her sheer.
To break up, to dissolve or put an end to; as, to break up house-keeping.
1.
To open or lay open; as, to break up a bed of earth.
2.
To plow ground the first time, or after lying long unplowed; a common use in the U. States.
3.
To separate; as, to break up a company.
4.
To disband; as, to break up an army.
To break upon the wheel, to stretch and break the bones by torture upon the wheel.
To break wind, to give vent to wind from the body backward.

BREAK

,
Verb.
I.
To part; to separate;to divide in two; as, the ice breaks; a band breaks.
1.
To burst; as, a storm or deluge breaks.
2.
To burst, by dashing against something; as, a wave breaks upon a rock.
3.
To open, as a tumor or aposteme.
4.
To open, as the morning; to show the first light; to dawn.
5.
To burst forth; to utter or exclaim.
6.
To fail in trade or other occupation; to become bankrupt.
7.
To decline in health and strength; to begin to lose the natural vigor.
8.
To issue out with vehemence.
9.
To make way with violence or suddenness; to rush; often with a particle; as, to break in; to break in upon, as calamities; to break over, as a flood; to break out, as a fire; to break forth, as light or a sound.
10. To come to an explanation.
I am to break with thee upon some affairs. [I believe, antiquated.]
11. To suffer an interruption of friendship; to fall out.
Be not afraid to break with traitors.
12. To faint, flag or pant.
My soul breaketh for longing to thy judgments. Ps.119.
To break away, to disengage itself from; to rush from; also, to dissolve itself or dissipate, as fog or clouds.
To break forth, to issue out.
To break from, to disengage from; to depart abruptly, or with vehemence.
To break in, to enter by force; to enter unexpectedly; to intrude.
To break loose, to get free by force; to escape from confinement by violence; to shake off restraint.
To break off, to part; to divide; also, to desist suddenly.
To break off from, to part from with violence.
To break out, to issue forth; to discover itself by its effects, to arise or spring up; as, a fire breaks out; a sedition breaks out; a fever breaks out.
1.
To appear in eruptions, as pustules; to have pustules, or an efflorescence on the skin, as a child breaks out. Hence we have freckle from the root of break.
2.
To throw off restraint, and become dissolute.
To break up, to dissolve itself and separate; as a company breaks up; a meeting breaks up; a fog breaks up; but more generally we say, fog, mist or clouds break away.
To break with, to part in enmity; to cease to be friends; as, to break with a friend or companion.
This verb carries with it its primitive sense of straining, parting, severing, bursting, often with violence, with the consequential senses of injury, defect and infirmity.

BREAK

,
Noun.
A state of being open, or the act of separating; an opening made by force; an open place. It is the same word as brack, differently written and pronounced.
1.
A pause; an interruption.
2.
A line in writing or printing, noting a suspension of the sense, or a stop in the sentence.
3.
In a ship, the break of the deck is the part where it terminates, and the descent on to the next deck below commences.
4.
The first appearance of light in the morning; the dawn; as the break of day.

Definition 2024

Break

Break

See also: break

German

Noun

Break n ‎(genitive Breaks, plural Breaks)

  1. (tennis) break
  2. (snooker) break

break

break

See also: Break

English

Verb

break ‎(third-person singular simple present 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.
    She broke the vase.
    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 his 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.
    You have to break an elephant before you can use it as an animal of burden.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare
      an old man, broken with the storms of state
  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.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare
      Go, release them, Ariel; / My charms I'll break, their senses I'll restore.
  6. (transitive) To ruin financially.
    The recession broke some small businesses.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Dryden
      With arts like these rich Matho, when he speaks, / Attracts all fees, and little lawyers breaks.
  7. (transitive) To violate, to not adhere to.
    When you go to Vancouver, promise me you won't break the law.
    He broke his vows by cheating on his wife.
    break one's word
    Time travel would break the laws of physics.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Milton
      Out, out, hyena! these are thy wonted arts […] / To break all faith, all vows, deceive, betray.
  8. (intransitive, of a fever) To pass the most dangerous part of the illness; to go down, temperaturewise.
    Susan's fever broke at about 3 AM, and the doctor said the worst was over.
  9. (intransitive, of a storm or spell of weather) To end.
    The forecast says the hot weather will break by midweek.
  10. (transitive, gaming slang) To design or use a powerful (yet legal) strategy that unbalances the game in a player's favor.
    Letting white have three extra queens would break chess.
  11. (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.
  12. (transitive) To cause (a barrier) to no longer bar.
    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.
  13. (transitive) To destroy the arrangement of; to throw into disorder; to pierce.
    The cavalry were not able to break the British squares.
  14. (intransitive, of a wave of water) To collapse into surf, after arriving in shallow water.
    A wave breaking.
  15. (intransitive) To burst forth; to make its way; to come into view.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare
      The clouds are still above; and, while I speak, / A second deluge o'er our head may break.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Wordsworth
      And from the turf a fountain broke, / And gurgled at our feet.
  16. (intransitive) To interrupt or cease one's work or occupation temporarily.
    Let's break for lunch.
  17. (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.
  18. (transitive, ergative) To disclose or make known an item of news, 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.
    In the latest breaking news...
    When news of their divorce broke, ...
  19. (intransitive, of morning) To arrive.
    Morning has broken.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare
      The day begins to break, and night is fled.
  20. (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, […] .
  21. (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.
  22. (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.
  23. (intransitive) Of a voice, to alter in type: in men generally to go up, in women sometimes to go down; to crack.
    His voice breaks when he gets emotional.
  24. (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.
  25. (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.
      • 2012 June 28, Jamie Jackson, “Wimbledon 2012: Lukas Rosol shocked by miracle win over Rafael Nadal”, in the Guardian:
        Yet when play restarted the Czech was a train that kept on running over Nadal. After breaking Nadal in the opening game of the final set, he went 2-0 up and later took the count to 4-2 with yet another emphatic ace – one of his 22 throughout.
    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).
  26. (transitive, military, most often in the passive tense) To demote, to reduce the military rank of.
    • 1953 February 9, “Books: First Rulers of Asia”, in Time:
      And he played no favorites: when his son-in-law sacked a city he had been told to spare, Genghis broke him to private.
    • 1968, William Manchester, The Arms of Krupp, Back Bay (2003), ISBN 978-0-316-52940-2, page 215:
      One morning after the budget had failed to balance Finanzminister von Scholz picked up Der Reichsanzeiger and found he had been broken to sergeant.
    • 2006, Peter Collier, Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty, Second Edition, Artisan Books, ISBN 978-1-57965-314-9, page 42:
      Not long after this event, Clausen became involved in another disciplinary situation and was broken to private—the only one to win the Medal of Honor in Vietnam.
  27. (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.
  28. (intransitive, of an emulsion) To demulsify.
    • 2004, J. L. Atwood, Jonathan W. Steed, Encyclopedia of supramolecular chemistry, volume 2, page 1466:
      Conversely, as the emulsion breaks and the system returns to the original state, energy is released.
    • 2006, Johan Sjöblom, Emulsions and emulsion stability, volume 22, page 400:
      When the droplets hit a solid wall the emulsion breaks instantly forming a bitumen on the wall and thus a layer up to 1 cm thick can be sprayed in one operation without requiring drying in between.
  29. (intransitive, sports) To counter-attack
    • 2010 December 28, Kevin Darlin, “West Brom 1 - 3 Blackburn”, in BBC:
      The Baggies almost hit back instantly when Graham Dorrans broke from midfield and pulled the trigger from 15 yards but Paul Robinson did superbly to tip the Scot's drive around the post.
  30. (transitive, obsolete) To lay open, as a purpose; to disclose, divulge, or communicate.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare
      Katharine, break thy mind to me.
  31. (intransitive) To become weakened in constitution or faculties; to lose health or strength.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Jonathan Swift
      See how the dean begins to break; / Poor gentleman he droops apace.
  32. (intransitive, obsolete) To fail in business; to become bankrupt.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Francis Bacon
      He that puts all upon adventures doth oftentimes break, and come to poverty.
  33. (transitive) To destroy the strength, firmness, or consistency of.
    to break flax
  34. (transitive) To destroy the official character and standing of; to cashier; to dismiss.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Jonathan Swift
      I see a great officer broken.
  35. (intransitive) To make an abrupt or sudden change; to change the gait.
    to break into a run or gallop
  36. (intransitive, archaic) To fall out; to terminate friendship.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Collier
      To break upon the score of danger or expense is to be mean and narrow-spirited.
Conjugation
Quotations
  • For usage examples of this term, see Citations:break.
Usage notes
  • The sense relating to a spell of weather is most likely to be used after a period of persistent good or bad weather; it is rarely used to signify the end of short-lived conditions.
  • In colloquial use, the past participle is sometimes 'broke' instead of 'broken,' as in the expression "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Synonyms
Antonyms
Derived terms
See also
Translations

Noun

break ‎(plural breaks)

  1. An instance of breaking something into two pieces.
    The femur has a clean break and so should heal easily.
  2. A physical space that opens up in something or between two things.
    The sun came out in a break in the clouds.
    He waited minutes for a break in the traffic to cross the highway.
  3. (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.
  4. (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.
  5. A rest or pause, usually from work; a breaktime. Often the mid-morning breaktime in the school day.
    Let’s take a five-minute break.
  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.
    • 2010 December 29, Chris Whyatt, “Chelsea 1 - 0 Bolton”, in BBC:
      But they marginally improved after the break as Didier Drogba hit the post.
  8. A significant change in circumstance, attitude, perception, or focus of attention: big break, lucky break, bad break.
  9. (Britain, weather) a change; the end of a spell of persistent good or bad weather
  10. The beginning (of the morning).
    daybreak
    at the break of day
  11. An act of escaping.
    make a break for it
    make a break for the door
    It was a clean break.
    prison break
  12. (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.
  13. (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
      • 2010 December 28, Owen Phillips, “Sunderland 0 - 2 Blackpool”, in BBC:
        Blackpool were not without their opportunities - thanks to their willingness to commit and leave men forward even when under severe pressure - and they looked very capable of scoring on the break.
  14. (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.
  15. A sharp bit or snaffle.
    • Gascoigne
      Pampered jades […] which need nor break nor bit.
  16. A short holiday.
    a weekend break on the Isle of Wight
Usage notes
  • music The instruments that are named are the ones that carry on playing, for example a fiddle break implies that the fiddle is the most prominent instrument playing during the break.
Synonyms
  • (instance of breaking something into two pieces): split
  • (physical space that opens up in something or between two things): breach, gap, space
  • (rest or pause, usually from work): time out
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

Clipping of breakdown (the percussion break of songs chosen by a DJ for use in hip-hop music) and see also breakdancing.

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.

References

  • 2001. The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: North America. Garland Publishing. Ellen Koskoff (Ed.). Pgs. 694-695.

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: authority · pleasant · forget · #862: break · Roman · wise · watch

Anagrams

French

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bʁɛk/

Etymology 1

From English break.

Noun

break m ‎(plural breaks)

  1. break (pause, holiday)
    C’est l’heure de faire un break.
  2. (tennis) break (of serve)
Synonyms

Etymology 2

From English shooting brake

Noun

break m, f ‎(plural breaks)

  1. estate car, station wagon

Italian

Etymology

Borrowing from English break.

Noun

break m ‎(invariable)

  1. break (intermission or brief suspension of activity)

Interjection

break

  1. break! (boxing)

Spanish

Noun

break m ‎(plural breaks)

  1. break (pause)
  2. (tennis) break

Etymology

From Middle English breken, from Old English brecan ‎(“to break”), from Proto-Germanic *brekaną ‎(“to break”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- ‎(“to break”).

Pronunciation

  • enPR: brāk, IPA(key): /bɹeɪk/, [bɹʷeɪ̯k]
  • Rhymes: -eɪk
  • Homophone: brake

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