break

/bɹˈeɪk/ · 1 syllable

Meaning

verb

terminate
“She interrupted her pregnancy”
become separated into pieces or fragments
“The figurine broke”
render inoperable or ineffective
“You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!”
ruin completely
“He busted my radio!”
destroy the integrity of; usually by force; cause to separate into pieces or fragments
“He broke the glass plate”
act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises
“offend all laws of humanity”
move away or escape suddenly
“The horses broke from the stable”
scatter or part
“The clouds broke after the heavy downpour”
force out or release suddenly and often violently something pent up
“break into tears”
prevent completion
“stop the project”
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”
make submissive, obedient, or useful
“The horse was tough to break”

noun

some abrupt occurrence that interrupts an ongoing activity
“the telephone is an annoying interruption”
an unexpected piece of good luck
“he finally got his big break”
(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”
a personal or social separation (as between opposing factions)
“they hoped to avoid a break in relations”
a pause from doing something (as work)
“we took a 10-minute break”
the act of breaking something
“the breakage was unavoidable”
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
breaking of hard tissue such as bone
“it was a nasty fracture”
the occurrence of breaking
“the break in the dam threatened the valley”
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”
the opening shot that scatters the balls in billiards or pool
(tennis) a score consisting of winning a game when your opponent was serving
“he was up two breaks in the second set”

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