BREAK

break, breakout, jailbreak, gaolbreak, prisonbreak, prison-breaking

(noun) an escape from jail; “the breakout was carefully planned”

break

(noun) a sudden dash; “he made a break for the open door”

breakage, break, breaking

(noun) the act of breaking something; “the breakage was unavoidable”

break, interruption, disruption, gap

(noun) an act of delaying or interrupting the continuity; “it was presented without commercial breaks”; “there was a gap in his account”

break, break of serve

(noun) (tennis) a score consisting of winning a game when your opponent was serving; “he was up two breaks in the second set”

break

(noun) the opening shot that scatters the balls in billiards or pool

respite, recess, break, time out

(noun) a pause from doing something (as work); “we took a 10-minute break”; “he took time out to recuperate”

break

(noun) 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”

rupture, breach, break, severance, rift, falling out

(noun) a personal or social separation (as between opposing factions); “they hoped to avoid a break in relations”

break, good luck, happy chance

(noun) an unexpected piece of good luck; “he finally got his big break”

break

(noun) the occurrence of breaking; “the break in the dam threatened the valley”

interruption, break

(noun) some abrupt occurrence that interrupts an ongoing activity; “the telephone is an annoying interruption”; “there was a break in the action when a player was hurt”

fault, faulting, geological fault, shift, fracture, break

(noun) (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”

fracture, break

(noun) breaking of hard tissue such as bone; “it was a nasty fracture”; “the break seems to have been caused by a fall”

pause, intermission, break, interruption, suspension

(noun) a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something

fracture, break

(verb) fracture a bone of; “I broke my foot while playing hockey”

break

(verb) fall sharply; “stock prices broke”

break

(verb) crack; of the male voice in puberty; “his voice is breaking--he should no longer sing in the choir”

break

(verb) render inoperable or ineffective; “You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!”

break, separate, split up, fall apart, come apart

(verb) become separated into pieces or fragments; “The figurine broke”; “The freshly baked loaf fell apart”

crack, break

(verb) become fractured; break or crack on the surface only; “The glass cracked when it was heated”

break, recrudesce, develop

(verb) happen; “Report the news as it develops”; “These political movements recrudesce from time to time”

break, break off, discontinue, stop

(verb) prevent completion; “stop the project”; “break off the negotiations”

interrupt, break

(verb) terminate; “She interrupted her pregnancy”; “break a lucky streak”; “break the cycle of poverty”

dampen, damp, soften, weaken, break

(verb) lessen in force or effect; “soften a shock”; “break a fall”

fail, go bad, give way, die, give out, conk out, go, break, break down

(verb) 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”

break

(verb) come into being; “light broke over the horizon”; “Voices broke in the air”

break

(verb) find the solution or key to; “break the code”

break

(verb) find a flaw in; “break an alibi”; “break down a proof”

break

(verb) undergo breaking; “The simple vowels broke in many Germanic languages”

pause, intermit, break

(verb) cease an action temporarily; “We pause for station identification”; “let’s break for lunch”

unwrap, disclose, let on, bring out, reveal, discover, expose, divulge, break, give away, let out, uncover

(verb) 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”

break, get out, get around

(verb) be released or become known; of news; “News of her death broke in the morning”

better, break

(verb) surpass in excellence; “She bettered her own record”; “break a record”

break

(verb) pierce or penetrate; “The blade broke her skin”

break, break off, snap off

(verb) break a piece from a whole; “break a branch from a tree”

break, wear, wear out, bust, fall apart

(verb) go to pieces; “The lawn mower finally broke”; “The gears wore out”; “The old chair finally fell apart completely”

break, bust

(verb) ruin completely; “He busted my radio!”

break

(verb) separate from a clinch, in boxing; “The referee broke the boxers”

break, burst, erupt

(verb) force out or release suddenly and often violently something pent up; “break into tears”; “erupt in anger”

break

(verb) curl over and fall apart in surf or foam, of waves; “The surf broke”

collapse, fall in, cave in, give, give way, break, founder

(verb) 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”

break

(verb) emerge from the surface of a body of water; “The whales broke”

break

(verb) scatter or part; “The clouds broke after the heavy downpour”

break, break out, break away

(verb) move away or escape suddenly; “The horses broke from the stable”; “Three inmates broke jail”; “Nobody can break out--this prison is high security”

bankrupt, ruin, break, smash

(verb) reduce to bankruptcy; “My daughter’s fancy wedding is going to break me!”; “The slump in the financial markets smashed him”

demote, bump, relegate, break, kick downstairs

(verb) assign to a lower position; reduce in rank; “She was demoted because she always speaks up”; “He was broken down to Sergeant”

separate, part, split up, split, break, break up

(verb) 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”

break, break away

(verb) interrupt a continued activity; “She had broken with the traditional patterns”

break

(verb) cause the failure or ruin of; “His peccadilloes finally broke his marriage”; “This play will either make or break the playwright”

transgress, offend, infract, violate, go against, breach, break

(verb) 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”

violate, go against, break

(verb) fail to agree with; be in violation of; as of rules or patterns; “This sentence violates the rules of syntax”

break

(verb) give up; “break cigarette smoking”

break

(verb) cause to give up a habit; “She finally broke herself of smoking cigarettes”

break

(verb) vary or interrupt a uniformity or continuity; “The flat plain was broken by tall mesas”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology 1

Verb

break (third-person singular simple present breaks, present participle breaking, simple past (archaic) brake or broke, past participle (colloquial) broke or broken)

(transitive, intransitive) To separate into two or more pieces, to fracture or crack, by a process that cannot easily be reversed for reassembly.

(transitive, intransitive) To crack or fracture (bone) under a physical strain.

(transitive) To divide (something, often money) into smaller units.

(transitive) To cause (a person or animal) to lose spirit or will; to crush the spirits of.

To turn an animal into a beast of burden.

(intransitive) To be crushed, or overwhelmed with sorrow or grief.

(transitive) To interrupt; to destroy the continuity of; to dissolve or terminate.

(transitive) To ruin financially.

(transitive) To violate, to not adhere to.

(intransitive, of a fever) To pass the most dangerous part of the illness; to go down, in terms of temperature.

(intransitive, of a spell of settled weather) To end.

(intransitive, of a storm) To begin; to end.

(intransitive, of morning, dawn, day etc.) To arrive.

(transitive, gaming slang) To render (a game) unchallenging by altering its rules or exploiting loopholes or weaknesses in them in a way that gives a player an unfair advantage.

(transitive, intransitive) To stop, or to cause to stop, functioning properly or altogether.

(specifically, in programming) To cause (some feature of a program or piece of software) to stop functioning properly; to cause a regression.

(transitive) To cause (a barrier) to no longer bar.

(specifically) To cause the shell of (an egg) to crack, so that the inside (yolk) is accessible.

(specifically) To open (a safe) without using the correct key, combination, or the like.

(transitive) To destroy the arrangement of; to throw into disorder; to pierce.

(intransitive, of a wave of water) To collapse into surf, after arriving in shallow water.

(intransitive) To burst forth; to make its way; to come into view.

(intransitive) To interrupt or cease one's work or occupation temporarily.

(transitive) To interrupt (a fall) by inserting something so that the falling object does not (immediately) hit something else beneath.

(transitive, ergative) To disclose or make known an item of news, etc.

(intransitive, of a sound) To become audible suddenly.

(transitive) To change a steady state abruptly.

(copulative, informal) To suddenly become.

(intransitive) Of a male voice, to become deeper at puberty.

(intransitive) Of a voice, to alter in type due to emotion or strain: in men generally to go up, in women sometimes to go down; to crack.

(transitive) To surpass or do better than (a specific number), to do better than (a record), setting a new record.

(sports and games)

(transitive, tennis) To win a game (against one's opponent) as receiver.

(intransitive, billiards, snooker, pool) To make the first shot; to scatter the balls from the initial neat arrangement.

(transitive, backgammon) To remove one of the two men on (a point).

(transitive, military, most often in the passive tense) To demote, to reduce the military rank of.

(transitive) To end (a connection), to disconnect.

(intransitive, of an emulsion) To demulsify.

(intransitive, sports) To counter-attack

(transitive, obsolete) To lay open, as a purpose; to disclose, divulge, or communicate.

(intransitive) To become weakened in constitution or faculties; to lose health or strength.

(intransitive, obsolete) To fail in business; to become bankrupt.

(transitive) To destroy the strength, firmness, or consistency of.

(transitive) To destroy the official character and standing of; to cashier; to dismiss.

(intransitive) To make an abrupt or sudden change; to change the gait.

(intransitive, archaic) To fall out; to terminate friendship.

(computing) To terminate the execution of a program before normal completion.

(programming) To suspend the execution of a program during debugging so that the state of the program can be investigated.

Synonyms

• (ergative: separate into two or more pieces): burst, bust, shatter, shear, smash, split

• (ergative: crack (bone)): crack, fracture

• (transitive: turn an animal into a beast of burden): break in, subject, tame

• (transitive: do that which is forbidden by): contravene, go against, violate

• (intransitive: stop functioning): break down, bust, fail, go down (of a computer or computer network)

Antonyms

• (transitive: cause to end up in two or more pieces): assemble, fix, join, mend, put together, repair

• (tennis, intransitive: break serve): hold

Hyponyms

(Hyponyms of break (verb)):

• break a leg

• break a sweat

• break apart

• break away

• break bad

• break bread

• break down

• break even

• break ground

• break in

• break into

• break loose

• break new ground

• break off

• break one's fast

• break open

• break out

• break rank

• break someone's heart

• break stride

• break the ice

• break through

• break up

• break wind

• horsebreaking

• unbreak

Coordinate terms

• bork

• breaking

• broke

• broken

Noun

break (plural breaks)

An instance of breaking something into two or more pieces.

A physical space that opens up in something or between two things.

A rest or pause, usually from work.

(UK) a time for students to talk or play.

A short holiday.

A temporary split with a romantic partner.

An interval or intermission between two parts of a performance, for example a theatre show, broadcast, or sports game.

A significant change in circumstance, attitude, perception, or focus of attention.

The beginning (of the morning).

An act of escaping.

(computing) The separation between lines, paragraphs or pages of a written text.

(computing) A keystroke or other signal that causes a program to terminate or suspend execution.

(programming) A point or condition in a program at which operation may be suspended during debugging so that the state of the program at that point can be investigated. A breakpoint.

(British, weather) A change, particularly the end of a spell of persistent good or bad weather.

(sports and games)

(tennis) A game won by the receiving player(s).

(billiards, snooker, pool) The first shot in a game of billiards

(snooker) The number of points scored by one player in one visit to the table

(soccer) The counter-attack

(surfing) A place where waves break (that is, where waves pitch or spill forward creating white water).

(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.

(equitation) A sharp bit or snaffle.

(music) A short section of music, often between verses, in which some performers stop while others continue.

(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.

(geography) usu. plural An area along a river that features steep banks, bluffs, or gorges (e.g, Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, US).

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; see also interspace or hole

• (rest or pause, usually from work): time-out; see also pause

• (time for playing outside): playtime (UK), recess (US)

• (short holiday): day off, time off; see also vacation

• (beginning of the morning): crack of dawn; see also dawn

Etymology 2

Noun

break (plural breaks)

(music) A section of extended repetition of the percussion break to a song, created by a hip-hop DJ as rhythmic dance music.

Anagrams

• Abrek, Baker, Brake, baker, barke, brake

Source: Wiktionary

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Break, v. t. [imp. broke, (Obs. Brake); p. p. Broken (, (Obs. Broke); p. pr. & vb. n. Breaking.] Etym: [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. Shak.

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. Shak.

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. Shak.

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 Shak.

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.

Note: 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.]

Note: 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 cover, to burst forth from a protecting concealment, as game when hunted.

– To break a deer or 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 break 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, v. 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 fied. Shak. And from the turf a fountain broke, and gurgled at our feet. Wordswoorth.

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. Shak.

5. To open up. to be scattered; t be dissipated; as, the clouds are breaking. At length the darkness begins to break. Macawlay.

6. To become weakened in constitution or faculties; to lose health or strength. See how the dean begins to break; Poor gentleman . 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.

Note: 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. Shak. To break down. (a) To come down by breaking; as, the coach broke down. (b) To fail in any undertaking. 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.

Break, n. Etym: [See Break, v. 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 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, n. 9 & 10.

8. (Teleg.)

Definition: See Commutator.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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