Yahoo Web Search

Search results

1. Dictionary

   Break

   /brāk/

   

   verb

   • 1. separate or cause to separate into pieces as a result of a blow, shock, or strain: "the branch broke with a loud snap" Similar shattersmashsmash to smithereenscracksnapfracturefragmentsplinterdisintegratefall to bitsfall to piecessplitburstblow outtearrendseverruptureseparatedivideinformal:bustrare:shiverOpposite repairmend
   • ▪ sustain an injury involving the fracture of a bone or bones in a part of the body: "she had broken her leg in two places" Similar fracturecracksmash
   • ▪ cause a cut or graze in (the skin): "the bite had scarcely broken the skin" Similar piercepuncturepenetrateperforatecutgrazemake a flesh wound in
   • ▪ make or become inoperative: "the machine has broken and they can't fix it until next week" Similar stop workingcease to work/functionbreak downgo wronggive outdevelop a faultmalfunctionbe damagedbe unusablecrashinformal:go kaputgo/be on the blinkdiegive up the ghostconk outgo phutgo haywirehave had itpack up
   • ▪ (of the amniotic fluid surrounding a fetus) be or cause to be discharged when the sac is ruptured in the first stages of labor: "she realized her water had broken"
   • ▪ open (a safe) forcibly. informal
   • ▪ use (a piece of paper currency) to pay for something and receive change out of the transaction: "she had to break a ten"
   • ▪ (of two boxers or wrestlers) come out of a clinch, especially at the referee's command: "I was acting as referee and telling them to break"
   • ▪ unfurl (a flag or sail).
   • ▪ succeed in deciphering (a code): "ciphers are easily broken by the new wonder machines" Similar decipherdecodedecryptunravelsolvework outinformal:crackfigure out
   • ▪ open (a shotgun or rifle) at the breech.
   • ▪ disprove (an alibi).
   • ▪ invalidate (a will) through legal process.
   • 2. interrupt (a sequence, course, or continuous state): "this broke the pattern of generations remaining in the place where they were born" Similar interruptdisturbinterfere with
   • ▪ put an end to (a silence) by speaking or making contact: "it was some time before he broke the silence"
   • ▪ make a pause in (a journey): British "we will break our journey in Venice"
   • ▪ stop proceedings in order to have a pause or vacation: "at mid-morning they broke for coffee" Similar stoppausetake/have a breakhave a restrecesssuspend proceedingsinformal:knock offtake/have a breathertake fiveOpposite resume
   • ▪ lessen the impact of (a fall): "she put out an arm to break her fall" Similar cushionlessen/reduce/soften the impact oftake the edge offdiminishmoderatemitigate
   • ▪ put an end to (a tie in a game) by making a score.
   • ▪ disconnect or interrupt (an electrical circuit): "a multimeter able to measure current without having to break the circuit under test"
   • ▪ stop oneself from engaging in (a habitual practice): "try to break the habit of adding salt at the table" Similar give uprelinquishdropget out ofinformal:kickshakepack inquit
   • ▪ surpass (a record): "the movie broke box-office records" Similar exceedsurpassbeatbettercaptoptrumpoutdooutstripgo beyondeclipseput in the shadeinformal:leave standing
   • 3. fail to observe (a law, regulation, or agreement): "the district attorney says she will prosecute retailers who break the law" Similar contraveneviolatefail to comply withfail to observedisobeyinfringebreachcommit a breach oftransgress againstdefyfloutfly in the face ofignoredisregardinfractOpposite keepabide by
   • ▪ fail to continue with (a self-imposed discipline): "diets started without preparation are broken all the time"
   • 4. crush the emotional strength, spirit, or resistance of: "the idea was to better the prisoners, not to break them"
   • ▪ (of a person's emotional strength) give way: "her self-control finally broke" Similar give waycollapsecrackbe overcomegive incave inyieldcrumplego to pieces
   • ▪ destroy the power of (a movement or organization): "the management are out to break the union" Similar destroycrushsmashquashdefeatvanquishovercomeoverpoweroverwhelmcripplebring someone to their kneesweakenenfeeblesapsuppresssubduecowdispiritimpairunderminedemoralizeincapacitateextinguish
   • ▪ destroy the effectiveness of (a strike), typically by bringing in other people to replace the striking workers: "the company has attempted to break the strike using non-union labor"
   • ▪ tame or train (a horse).
   • 5. (of the weather) change suddenly: "the weather broke and thunder rumbled through a leaden sky" Similar changeundergo a changealtershiftmetamorphose
   • ▪ (of a storm) begin violently: "when all were aboard, the storm broke"
   • ▪ (of dawn or day) begin with the sun rising: "dawn was just breaking" Similar dawnbeginstartcome into beingcome forthemergeappear
   • ▪ (of clouds) move apart and begin to disperse: "on the seventh of September the clouds broke for the first time"
   • ▪ (of waves) curl over and dissolve into foam: "the Caribbean sea breaking gently on the shore" Similar crashdashbeatpoundlashbatter
   • ▪ (of the voice) falter and change tone, due to emotion: "her voice broke as she relived the experience" Similar falterquaverquivertrembleshake
   • ▪ (of a boy's voice) change in tone and register at puberty: "after his voice broke, he left the choir"
   • ▪ (of a vowel) develop into a diphthong, under the influence of an adjacent sound.
   • ▪ (of prices on the stock exchange) fall sharply.
   • ▪ make the first stroke at the beginning of a game of billiards, pool, or snooker.
   • 6. (of news or a scandal) suddenly become public: "since the news broke I've received thousands of wonderful letters" Similar eruptburst outbreak out
   • ▪ make bad news known to (someone): "he was trying to break the terrible news gently to his father" Similar revealdisclosedivulgelet outannouncetellimpartmake publicmake knownreleaseproclaim
   • 7. (chiefly of an attacking player or team, or of a military force) make a rush or dash in a particular direction: "the flight broke to the right and formed a defensive circle"
   • ▪ (of a pitched baseball) curve or drop on its way toward the batter.
   • ▪ (of a bowled cricket ball) change direction on bouncing, due to spin.
   • ▪ (of a ball) rebound unpredictably: "the ball broke to Craig but his shot rebounded from the post"

   noun

   • 1. an interruption of continuity or uniformity: "the magazine has been published without a break since 1950" Similar interruptionintervalgaphiatuslapse of timelacunadiscontinuationdiscontinuancediscontinuitysuspensiondisruptioncutoffstopstoppagecessationcaesuraarchaic:surcease
   • ▪ an act of separating oneself from a state of affairs: "a break with the past"
   • ▪ a change in the weather: "a week or so may pass without a break in the weather" Similar changealterationvariation
   • ▪ a change of line, paragraph, or page: "dotted lines on the screen show page breaks"
   • ▪ a change of tone in the voice due to emotion: "there was a break in her voice now"
   • ▪ an interruption in an electrical circuit.
   • ▪ the winning of a game against an opponent's serve.
   • 2. a pause in work or during an activity or event: "I need a break from mental activity" Similar restrespiteintervalbreathing spacelullrecessstoppausetea breakcoffee breakintermissioninterludeentr'acteinformal:breatherletuptime outdowntimesmoko
   • ▪ a short vacation: "the Christmas break" Similar time offperiod of leaveholidayminibreakvacationinformal:staycationvacvacay
   • ▪ a short solo or instrumental passage in jazz or popular music.
   • 3. a gap or opening: "he stopped to wait for a break in the traffic" Similar gapopeningspaceholebreachchinkcrackfissurecleftriftchasmtearsplitslitrentrupture
   • 4. an instance of breaking something, or the point where something is broken: "a break in the valve was being repaired"
   • 5. a rush or dash in a particular direction, especially by an attacking player or team: "he made a bounce pass for a basket on the break in the second quarter"
   • ▪ a breakout, especially from prison. informal
   • ▪ a curve or drop in the path of a pitched baseball.
   • 6. an opportunity or chance, especially one leading to professional success: informal "he got his break as an entertainer on a TV music hall show" Similar opportunitystroke of luckchanceopeningfoot in the door
   • 7. a consecutive series of successful shots, scoring a specified number of points: "a break of 83 put him in front for the first time"
   • ▪ a player's turn to make the opening shot of a game or a rack: "whose break is it?"

   Word Origin Old Englishbrecan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch breken and German brechen, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin frangere ‘to break’.

   Scrabble Points: 11

   • B

     3

   • R

     1

   • E

     1

   • A

     1

   • K

     5

   Powered by Oxford Languages

   More Definitions, Word Origin & ScrabbleShow less

2. Top Stories

   • 
     The Daily Beast

     Hunter Biden’s Wife Goes Off at ‘Nazi Piece of Sh*t’ Outside Courtroom

     “You have no right to be here, you Nazi piece of shit,” Melissa Cohen Biden told former Trump White House aide Garrett Ziegler as he tried to enter the courtroom during a brief morning break ...

     36 minutes ago

   • 

     Yahoo TV UK

     'I won Britain's Got Talent but it breaks my heart people are so against me'

     1 hour ago

   • 

     WWSB Sarasota

     Manatee County officials break ground on new EMS facility in Palmetto

     16 minutes ago

   • 

     CNN via Yahoo

     Blazes erupt in northern Israel after cross-border attacks from Lebanon

     1 hour ago

   • Business Insider via Yahoo

     Inside Roaring Kitty's 3 insane weeks of hyperactive social media posting that sparked a feeding frenzy for GameStop stocks

     4 minutes ago

   • Collider

     'The Valley' Star Brittany Cartwright Opens Up About Split from Jax Taylor

     17 minutes ago

   • WSB Cox articles via Yahoo

     LIVE UPDATES: More water main breaks reported around city of Atlanta

     Water has been temporarily disrupted to businesses and one fire hydrant. 11:04 a.m. The Department of Watershed Management is reporting a new water main break at 2256 Beecher Road that is affecting ...

     2 hours ago

   • The Independent via Yahoo

     Nigel Farage live: Reform leader has drink thrown at him in Clacton as he pledges to be ‘bloody nuisance’

     8 minutes ago

   • Packers Wire via Yahoo

     Packers DL Lukas Van Ness returns to OTAs after minor thumb injury

     10 minutes ago

   • WMBD - FOX 43 Peoria

     India’s popular but polarizing leader Narendra Modi is extending his decade in power. Who is he?

     18 minutes ago

   View all

3. www.merriam-webster.com › dictionary › breakBreak Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

   www.merriam-webster.com › dictionary › break

   • Cached

   The meaning of BREAK is to separate into parts with suddenness or violence. How to use break in a sentence. Break and Brake: Remembering Which Is Which

4. www.dictionary.com › browse › breakBREAK Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com

   www.dictionary.com › browse › break

   • Cached

   Break definition: to smash, split, or divide into parts violently; reduce to pieces or fragments. See examples of BREAK used in a sentence.

5. dictionary.cambridge.org › dictionary › englishBREAK | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary

   dictionary.cambridge.org › dictionary › english

   • Cached

   break verb (SEPARATE) [ I/T ] past tense broke us / broʊk / | past participle broken us / ˈbroʊ·kən /. to escape or separate from something or someone suddenly: [ I always + adv/prep ] The dog broke free and ran into traffic. [ I always + adv/prep ] The handle on the teapot just broke off.

6. www.vocabulary.com › dictionary › breakBreak - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms | Vocabulary.com

   www.vocabulary.com › dictionary › break

   Definitions of break. verb. destroy the integrity of; usually by force; cause to separate into pieces or fragments. “He broke the glass plate”. “She broke the match”. synonyms: come apart, fall apart, separate, split up. become separated into pieces or fragments. see more.

7. dictionary.cambridge.org › dictionary › learner-englishBREAK | meaning - Cambridge Learner's Dictionary

   dictionary.cambridge.org › dictionary › learner-english

   • Cached

   to make a noise, speak, etc and end a period of silence: The silence was broken by a sudden knock at the door. break a habit/routine, etc. to stop doing something that you usually do. break a record. B2. to do something faster, better, etc than anyone else: He broke the world record for the 200m.

8. www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com › definition › englishbreak verb - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes...

   www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com › definition › english

   • Cached

   Definition of break verb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

9. www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com › definition › englishbreak noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes...

   www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com › definition › english

   • Cached

   Check pronunciation: break. Definition of break noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

10. www.collinsdictionary.com › dictionary › englishBREAK definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary

    www.collinsdictionary.com › dictionary › english

    • Cached

    4 days ago · A break is a short period of time when you have a rest or a change from what you are doing, especially if you are working or if you are in a boring or unpleasant situation. They may be able to help with childcare so that you can have a break.

11. www.merriam-webster.com › thesaurus › breakBREAK Synonyms: 715 Similar and Opposite Words - Merriam-Webster

    www.merriam-webster.com › thesaurus › break

    • Cached

    Synonyms for BREAK: disrupt, fracture, fragment, disintegrate, split, destroy, reduce, shatter; Antonyms of BREAK: fix, repair, rebuild, patch, heal, reconstruct, mend, renovate.

12. www.thesaurus.com › browse › break284 Synonyms & Antonyms for BREAK | Thesaurus.com

    www.thesaurus.com › browse › break

    • Cached

    Find 284 different ways to say BREAK, along with antonyms, related words, and example sentences at Thesaurus.com.