break
verb
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to act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises“You broke the rules, so we'll have to think about whether or not we will permit you here in the future.”breachoffendtransgressgo againstinfract
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to enter someone's virtual or real property in an unauthorized manner, usually with the intent to steal or commit a violent act“They broke into our house!”break in
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to happen or take place“Things have been breaking pretty well for us in the past few months.”
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to fail to agree with“I think this is the first time running this business together that we've had a break.”go against
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to give up“I tried to break cigarette smoking for my new partner.”
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to cause to give up a habit“I broke my smoking habits two years ago.”
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to vary or interrupt a uniformity or continuity“There was a break in the storm.”
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to weaken or destroy in spirit or body“The devastating news broke them.”
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to fracture a bone of“I broke my leg.”fracture
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to make submissive, obedient, or useful“The horse was tough to break.”break in
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to be broken in“If the new teacher won't break, we'll add some stress.”
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to crack something“I broke the vase.”
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to become separated into pieces or fragments“I dropped the glass and it broke.”separatesplit upfall apartcome apart
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to destroy the integrity of“They broke their wedding vows.”
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to lessen in force or effect“The storm finally broke sometime after midnight.”dampweakendampensoften
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to stop operating or functioning“My clock broke last night.”godieconk outfailgo badgive waygive out
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to change suddenly from one tone quality or register to another“The singer broke into a falsetto for the high parts of the song.”
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to find the solution or key to“I had to break the code to understand the message.”
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to find a flaw in“This new information will break the suspect's alibi.”
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to interrupt the flow of current in“They broke a circuit while soldering.”
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to cease an action temporarily“We will break for one hour.”pauseintermit
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to be released or become known“The album broke last week.”get outget around
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to pierce or penetrate“The needle broke the surface of the cloth.”
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to become punctured or penetrated“You broke the skin.”
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to break a piece from a whole“I tried to break a branch from the tree.”snap off
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to go to pieces“The vase broke.”bustwearwear outfall apart
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to ruin completely“I broke the remote.”bust
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to separate from a clinch, in boxing“The boxers were forced to break over a dozen times in the first round.”
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to make the opening shot that scatters the balls“It's my turn to break.”
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to destroy the completeness of a set of related items“The book dealer would not break the set.”break up
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to exchange for smaller units of money“I had to break a $100 bill just to buy the candy.”
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to force out or release suddenly and often violently something pent up“They break into tears at the drop of a hat.”bursterupt
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to do a break dance“Kids were breaking at the street corner.”break dancebreak-dance
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to curl over and fall apart in surf or foam, of waves“The waves are breaking nicely today.”
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to break down, literally or metaphorically“When no one came to their birthday party for the second year in a row, the child broke.”collapsegivecave infoundergive wayfall in
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to emerge from the surface of a body of water“The dolphin broke through the water's surface making beautiful ripples.”
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to scatter or part“They broke towards the woods.”
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to make a rupture in the ranks of the enemy or one's own by quitting or fleeing“We finally broke through their advancing line.”
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to move away or escape suddenly“We made our break from the line and headed for the fence.”break outbreak away
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to change directions suddenly“We wind broke west.”
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to reduce to bankruptcy“Our fancy wedding is going to break us!”smashbankruptruin
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to discontinue an association or relation“Our country broke ties with our former trading partner.”partseparatesplitsplit upbreak up
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to invalidate by judicial action“We went to court to break the will, or else we wouldn't get any money.”
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to interrupt a continued activity“I broke your winning streak.”break away
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to cause the failure or ruin of“I broke the car.”
noun
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an escape from jail“the breakout was carefully planned”breakout
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any frame in which a bowler fails to make a strike or spare“The break in the eighth frame cost our bowling team the match.”open frame
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a sudden dash“We made a break for the door as soon as the rain let up.”
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the act of breaking something, making it unusable“The break of the record player meant it no longer worked.”breakagebreaking
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an act of delaying or interrupting the continuity“it was presented without commercial breaks”interruptiondisruptiongap
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in tennis, a score consisting of winning a game when your opponent was serving“I was up two breaks in the second set.”break of serve
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the opening shot that scatters the balls in billiards or pool
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a pause from doing something (as work)“we took a 10-minute break”respiterecesstime out
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an abrupt change in the tone or register of the voice as at puberty or due to emotion“I felt so strongly, that I knew that my voice would break if I spoke.”
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a personal or social separation (as between opposing factions)“they hoped to avoid a break in relations”breach
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an unexpected piece of good luck“They finally got their big break.”good luckhappy chance
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the occurrence of breaking“the break in the dam threatened the valley”
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some abrupt occurrence that interrupts an ongoing activityinterruption
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(geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the otherfault
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breaking of hard tissue such as bonefracture
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a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of somethingsuspensioninterruptionpauseintermission