'Break' definitions:

Definition of 'break'

(from WordNet)
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" [syn: interruption, break]
noun
An unexpected piece of good luck; "he finally got his big break" [syn: break, good luck, happy chance]
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" [syn: fault, faulting, geological fault, shift, fracture, break]
noun
A personal or social separation (as between opposing factions); "they hoped to avoid a break in relations" [syn: rupture, breach, break, severance, rift, falling out]
noun
A pause from doing something (as work); "we took a 10-minute break"; "he took time out to recuperate" [syn: respite, recess, break, time out]
noun
The act of breaking something; "the breakage was unavoidable" [syn: breakage, break, breaking]
noun
A time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something [syn: pause, intermission, break, interruption, suspension]
noun
Breaking of hard tissue such as bone; "it was a nasty fracture"; "the break seems to have been caused by a fall" [syn: fracture, break]
noun
The occurrence of breaking; "the break in the dam threatened the valley"
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"
noun
The opening shot that scatters the balls in billiards or pool
noun
(tennis) a score consisting of winning a game when your opponent was serving; "he was up two breaks in the second set" [syn: break, break of serve]
noun
An act of delaying or interrupting the continuity; "it was presented without commercial breaks"; "there was a gap in his account" [syn: break, interruption, disruption, gap]
noun
A sudden dash; "he made a break for the open door"
noun
Any frame in which a bowler fails to make a strike or spare; "the break in the eighth frame cost him the match" [syn: open frame, break]
noun
An escape from jail; "the breakout was carefully planned" [syn: break, breakout, jailbreak, gaolbreak, prisonbreak, prison-breaking]
verb
Terminate; "She interrupted her pregnancy"; "break a lucky streak"; "break the cycle of poverty" [syn: interrupt, break]
verb
Become separated into pieces or fragments; "The figurine broke"; "The freshly baked loaf fell apart" [syn: break, separate, split up, fall apart, come apart]
verb
Render inoperable or ineffective; "You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!"
verb
Ruin completely; "He busted my radio!" [syn: break, bust] [ant: bushel, doctor, fix, furbish up, mend, repair, restore, touch on]
verb
Destroy the integrity of; usually by force; cause to separate into pieces or fragments; "He broke the glass plate"; "She broke the match"
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" [syn: transgress, offend, infract, violate, go against, breach, break] [ant: keep, observe]
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" [syn: break, break out, break away]
verb
Scatter or part; "The clouds broke after the heavy downpour"
verb
Force out or release suddenly and often violently something pent up; "break into tears"; "erupt in anger" [syn: break, burst, erupt]
verb
Prevent completion; "stop the project"; "break off the negotiations" [syn: break, break off, discontinue, stop]
verb
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?" [syn: break in, break]
verb
Make submissive, obedient, or useful; "The horse was tough to break"; "I broke in the new intern" [syn: break in, break]
verb
Fail to agree with; be in violation of; as of rules or patterns; "This sentence violates the rules of syntax" [syn: violate, go against, break] [ant: conform to]
verb
Surpass in excellence; "She bettered her own record"; "break a record" [syn: better, break]
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" [syn: unwrap, disclose, let on, bring out, reveal, discover, expose, divulge, break, give away, let out]
verb
Come into being; "light broke over the horizon"; "Voices broke in the air"
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" [syn: fail, go bad, give way, die, give out, conk out, go, break, break down]
verb
Interrupt a continued activity; "She had broken with the traditional patterns" [syn: break, break away]
verb
Make a rupture in the ranks of the enemy or one's own by quitting or fleeing; "The ranks broke"
verb
Curl over and fall apart in surf or foam, of waves; "The surf broke"
verb
Lessen in force or effect; "soften a shock"; "break a fall" [syn: dampen, damp, soften, weaken, break]
verb
Be broken in; "If the new teacher won't break, we'll add some stress"
verb
Come to an end; "The heat wave finally broke yesterday"
verb
Vary or interrupt a uniformity or continuity; "The flat plain was broken by tall mesas"
verb
Cause to give up a habit; "She finally broke herself of smoking cigarettes"
verb
Give up; "break cigarette smoking"
verb
Come forth or begin from a state of latency; "The first winter storm broke over New York"
verb
Happen or take place; "Things have been breaking pretty well for us in the past few months"
verb
Cause the failure or ruin of; "His peccadilloes finally broke his marriage"; "This play will either make or break the playwright" [ant: make]
verb
Invalidate by judicial action; "The will was broken"
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" [syn: separate, part, split up, split, break, break up]
verb
Assign to a lower position; reduce in rank; "She was demoted because she always speaks up"; "He was broken down to Sergeant" [syn: demote, bump, relegate, break, kick downstairs] [ant: advance, elevate, kick upstairs, promote, raise, upgrade]
verb
Reduce to bankruptcy; "My daughter's fancy wedding is going to break me!"; "The slump in the financial markets smashed him" [syn: bankrupt, ruin, break, smash]
verb
Change directions suddenly
verb
Emerge from the surface of a body of water; "The whales broke"
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" [syn: collapse, fall in, cave in, give, give way, break, founder]
verb
Do a break dance; "Kids were break-dancing at the street corner" [syn: break dance, break-dance, break]
verb
Exchange for smaller units of money; "I had to break a $100 bill just to buy the candy"
verb
Destroy the completeness of a set of related items; "The book dealer would not break the set" [syn: break, break up]
verb
Make the opening shot that scatters the balls
verb
Separate from a clinch, in boxing; "The referee broke the boxers"
verb
Go to pieces; "The lawn mower finally broke"; "The gears wore out"; "The old chair finally fell apart completely" [syn: break, wear, wear out, bust, fall apart]
verb
Break a piece from a whole; "break a branch from a tree" [syn: break, break off, snap off]
verb
Become punctured or penetrated; "The skin broke"
verb
Pierce or penetrate; "The blade broke her skin"
verb
Be released or become known; of news; "News of her death broke in the morning" [syn: break, get out, get around]
verb
Cease an action temporarily; "We pause for station identification"; "let's break for lunch" [syn: pause, intermit, break]
verb
Interrupt the flow of current in; "break a circuit"
verb
Undergo breaking; "The simple vowels broke in many Germanic languages"
verb
Find a flaw in; "break an alibi"; "break down a proof"
verb
Find the solution or key to; "break the code"
verb
Change suddenly from one tone quality or register to another; "Her voice broke to a whisper when she started to talk about her children"
verb
Happen; "Report the news as it develops"; "These political movements recrudesce from time to time" [syn: break, recrudesce, develop]
verb
Become fractured; break or crack on the surface only; "The glass cracked when it was heated" [syn: crack, check, break]
verb
Crack; of the male voice in puberty; "his voice is breaking --he should no longer sing in the choir"
verb
Fall sharply; "stock prices broke"
verb
Fracture a bone of; "I broke my foot while playing hockey" [syn: fracture, break]
verb
Diminish or discontinue abruptly; "The patient's fever broke last night"
verb
Weaken or destroy in spirit or body; "His resistance was broken"; "a man broken by the terrible experience of near- death"

Definition of 'Break'

From: GCIDE
  • Break \Break\ (br[=a]k), v. t. [imp. broke (br[=o]k), (Obs. Brake); p. p. Broken (br[=o]"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, br[aum]kka to crack, Dan. br[ae]kke 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. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. To lay open as by breaking; to divide; as, to break a package of goods. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. To lay open, as a purpose; to disclose, divulge, or communicate. [1913 Webster]
  • Katharine, break thy mind to me. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. To infringe or violate, as an obligation, law, or promise. [1913 Webster]
  • Out, out, hyena! these are thy wonted arts . . . To break all faith, all vows, deceive, betray. --Milton [1913 Webster]
  • 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. [1913 Webster]
  • Go, release them, Ariel; My charms I'll break, their senses I'll restore. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 6. To destroy the completeness of; to remove a part from; as, to break a set. [1913 Webster]
  • 7. To destroy the arrangement of; to throw into disorder; to pierce; as, the cavalry were not able to break the British squares. [1913 Webster]
  • 8. To shatter to pieces; to reduce to fragments. [1913 Webster]
  • The victim broke in pieces the musical instruments with which he had solaced the hours of captivity. --Prescott. [1913 Webster]
  • 9. To exchange for other money or currency of smaller denomination; as, to break a five dollar bill. [1913 Webster]
  • 10. To destroy the strength, firmness, or consistency of; as, to break flax. [1913 Webster]
  • 11. To weaken or impair, as health, spirit, or mind. [1913 Webster]
  • An old man, broken with the storms of state. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 12. To diminish the force of; to lessen the shock of, as a fall or blow. [1913 Webster]
  • I'll rather leap down first, and break your fall. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
  • 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. [1913 Webster]
  • 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. [1913 Webster]
  • Why, then thou canst not break her to the lute? --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 15. To destroy the financial credit of; to make bankrupt; to ruin. [1913 Webster]
  • With arts like these rich Matho, when he speaks, Attracts all fees, and little lawyers breaks. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
  • 16. To destroy the official character and standing of; to cashier; to dismiss. [1913 Webster]
  • I see a great officer broken. --Swift. [1913 Webster]
  • Note: With prepositions or adverbs: [1913 Webster]
  • 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.] [1913 Webster]
  • Note: With an immediate object: [1913 Webster]
  • 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. [1913 Webster]
  • Syn: To dispart; rend; tear; shatter; batter; violate; infringe; demolish; destroy; burst; dislocate. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Break'

From: GCIDE
  • Break \Break\ (br[=a]k), v. i.
  • 1. To come apart or divide into two or more pieces, usually with suddenness and violence; to part; to burst asunder. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. To open spontaneously, or by pressure from within, as a bubble, a tumor, a seed vessel, a bag. [1913 Webster]
  • Else the bottle break, and the wine runneth out. --Math. ix. 17. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. To burst forth; to make its way; to come to view; to appear; to dawn. [1913 Webster]
  • The day begins to break, and night is fled. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • And from the turf a fountain broke, and gurgled at our feet. --Wordsworth. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. To burst forth violently, as a storm. [1913 Webster]
  • The clouds are still above; and, while I speak, A second deluge o'er our head may break. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. To open up; to be scattered; to be dissipated; as, the clouds are breaking. [1913 Webster]
  • At length the darkness begins to break. --Macaulay. [1913 Webster]
  • 6. To become weakened in constitution or faculties; to lose health or strength. [1913 Webster]
  • See how the dean begins to break; Poor gentleman! he droops apace. --Swift. [1913 Webster]
  • 7. To be crushed, or overwhelmed with sorrow or grief; as, my heart is breaking. [1913 Webster]
  • 8. To fall in business; to become bankrupt. [1913 Webster]
  • He that puts all upon adventures doth oftentimes break, and come to poverty. --Bacn. [1913 Webster]
  • 9. To make an abrupt or sudden change; to change the gait; as, to break into a run or gallop. [1913 Webster]
  • 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. [1913 Webster]
  • 11. To fall out; to terminate friendship. [1913 Webster]
  • To break upon the score of danger or expense is to be mean and narrow-spirited. --Collier. [1913 Webster]
  • Note: With prepositions or adverbs: [1913 Webster]
  • To break away, to disengage one's self abruptly; to come or go away against resistance. [1913 Webster]
  • Fear me not, man; I will not break away. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • To break down. (a) To come down by breaking; as, the coach broke down. (b) To fail in any undertaking; to halt before successful completion; as, the negotiations broke down due to irreconcilable demands. (c) To cease functioning or to malfunction; as, the car broke down in the middle of the highway. [1913 Webster +PJC]
  • He had broken down almost at the outset. --Thackeray. [1913 Webster]
  • 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; [1913 Webster]
  • Note: often with into in expressing or giving vent to one's feelings. "Break forth into singing, ye mountains." --Isa. xliv. 23. [1913 Webster]
  • To break from, to go away from abruptly. [1913 Webster]
  • This radiant from the circling crowd he broke. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
  • 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. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Break'

From: GCIDE
  • Break \Break\ (br[=a]k), n. [See Break, v. t., and cf. Brake (the instrument), Breach, Brack a crack.]
  • 1. An opening made by fracture or disruption. [1913 Webster]
  • 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. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. An interruption; a pause; as, a break in friendship; a break in the conversation. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. An interruption in continuity in writing or printing, as where there is an omission, an unfilled line, etc. [1913 Webster]
  • All modern trash is Set forth with numerous breaks and dashes. --Swift. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. The first appearing, as of light in the morning; the dawn; as, the break of day; the break of dawn. [1913 Webster]
  • 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. [1913 Webster]
  • 7. A device for checking motion, or for measuring friction. See Brake, n. 9 & 10. [1913 Webster]
  • 8. (Teleg.) See Commutator. [1913 Webster]

Synonyms of 'break'

From: Moby Thesaurus

Words containing 'Break'