1
break (v.)terminate;
break the cycle of poverty
break (v.)become separated into pieces or fragments;
Synonyms: separate /
split up /
fall apart /
come apart break (v.)render inoperable or ineffective;
You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!
break (v.)ruin completely;
break (v.)destroy the integrity of; usually by force; cause to separate into pieces or fragments;
break (v.)act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises;
break (v.)move away or escape suddenly;
The horses broke from the stable
Nobody can break out--this prison is high security
Synonyms: break out / break away
break (v.)scatter or part;
The clouds broke after the heavy downpour
break (v.)force out or release suddenly and often violently something pent up;
break (v.)prevent completion;
break off the negotiations
break (v.)enter someone's (virtual or real) property in an unauthorized manner, usually with the intent to steal or commit a violent act;
who broke into my account last night?
Someone broke in while I was on vacation
They broke into my car and stole my radio!
Synonyms: break in
break (v.)make submissive, obedient, or useful;
The horse was tough to break
I broke in the new intern
Synonyms: break in
break (v.)fail to agree with; be in violation of; as of rules or patterns;
break (v.)surpass in excellence;
break (v.)make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret;
break (v.)come into being;
light broke over the horizon
break (v.)stop operating or functioning;
The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town
Synonyms: fail /
go bad /
give way /
die /
give out /
conk out /
go /
break down break (v.)interrupt a continued activity;
She had broken with the traditional patterns
Synonyms: break away
break (v.)make a rupture in the ranks of the enemy or one's own by quitting or fleeing;
break (v.)curl over and fall apart in surf or foam, of waves;
break (v.)lessen in force or effect;
break (v.)be broken in;
If the new teacher won't break, we'll add some stress
break (v.)come to an end;
The heat wave finally broke yesterday
break (v.)vary or interrupt a uniformity or continuity;
The flat plain was broken by tall mesas
break (v.)cause to give up a habit;
She finally broke herself of smoking cigarettes
break (v.)come forth or begin from a state of latency;
The first winter storm broke over New York
break (v.)happen or take place;
Things have been breaking pretty well for us in the past few months
break (v.)cause the failure or ruin of;
His peccadilloes finally broke his marriage
This play will either make or break the playwright
break (v.)invalidate by judicial action;
break (v.)discontinue an association or relation; go different ways;
The business partners broke over a tax question
break (v.)assign to a lower position; reduce in rank;
He was broken down to Sergeant
break (v.)reduce to bankruptcy;
My daughter's fancy wedding is going to break me!
break (v.)change directions suddenly;
break (v.)emerge from the surface of a body of water;
break (v.)break down, literally or metaphorically;
break (v.)do a break dance;
Kids were break-dancing at the street corner
Synonyms: break dance / break-dance
break (v.)exchange for smaller units of money;
I had to break a $100 bill just to buy the candy
break (v.)destroy the completeness of a set of related items;
The book dealer would not break the set
Synonyms: break up
break (v.)make the opening shot that scatters the balls;
break (v.)separate from a clinch, in boxing;
The referee broke the boxers
break (v.)go to pieces;
The lawn mower finally broke
Synonyms: wear /
wear out /
bust /
fall apart break (v.)break a piece from a whole;
break a branch from a tree
Synonyms: break off / snap off
break (v.)become punctured or penetrated;
break (v.)pierce or penetrate;
break (v.)be released or become known; of news;
News of her death broke in the morning
Synonyms: get out / get around
break (v.)cease an action temporarily;
break (v.)interrupt the flow of current in;
break (v.)undergo breaking;
The simple vowels broke in many Germanic languages
break (v.)find a flaw in;
break (v.)find the solution or key to;
break (v.)change suddenly from one tone quality or register to another;
Her voice broke to a whisper when she started to talk about her children
break (v.)become fractured; break or crack on the surface only;
break (v.)crack; of the male voice in puberty;
his voice is breaking--he should no longer sing in the choir
break (v.)fracture a bone of;
I broke my foot while playing hockey
break (v.)diminish or discontinue abruptly;
The patient's fever broke last night
break (v.)weaken or destroy in spirit or body;
His resistance was broken
a man broken by the terrible experience of near-death
2
break (n.)some abrupt occurrence that interrupts an ongoing activity;
there was a break in the action when a player was hurt
break (n.)an unexpected piece of good luck;
he finally got his big break
Synonyms: good luck / happy chance
break (n.)(geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other;
break (n.)a personal or social separation (as between opposing factions);
they hoped to avoid a break in relations
break (n.)a pause from doing something (as work);
we took a 10-minute break
break (n.)the act of breaking something;
break (n.)a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something;
break (n.)breaking of hard tissue such as bone;
the break seems to have been caused by a fall
break (n.)the occurrence of breaking;
the break in the dam threatened the valley
break (n.)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
break (n.)the opening shot that scatters the balls in billiards or pool;
break (n.)(tennis) a score consisting of winning a game when your opponent was serving;
he was up two breaks in the second set
Synonyms: break of serve
break (n.)an act of delaying or interrupting the continuity;
it was presented without commercial breaks
break (n.)a sudden dash;
he made a break for the open door
break (n.)any frame in which a bowler fails to make a strike or spare;
the break in the eighth frame cost him the match
Synonyms: open frame
break (n.)an escape from jail;
Synonyms: breakout /
jailbreak /
gaolbreak /
prisonbreak /
prison-breaking 