Break — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

to cause to separate into pieces usually suddenly or forcibly

"hated telling her that I had broken her favorite glass vase"

to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end

"the final vote broke the deadlock"

to bring to a lower grade or rank

"the captain was broken to lieutenant commander for disobeying a direct order from his group commander"

to change (as a secret message) from code into ordinary language

"Alan Turing and the Bletchley Park mathematicians broke the Enigma code being used by the Nazis"

to come to a temporary halt in one's activity

"she broke from her ruminations to find that it was already dinnertime"

to cut into and turn over the sod of (a piece of land) using a bladed implement

"farmers once broke fields with horse-drawn plows"

to fail to keep

"had to confess that he had broken his promise not to share their conversation with anyone"

to find an answer for through reasoning

"Professor Bates broke the problem when she realized that it was possible to synthesize the necessary compounds"

to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of

"I broke a tooth on the hard candy"

to stop functioning

"after working for 30 years, the pump simply broke one day"

to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening

"the herd of gazelles broke when they saw the lions racing toward them from the ridge above"

to use up all the physical energy of

"the trek up the mountain just about broke me"

to become known

"as soon as the scandal broke, the CEO fled the country"

to cause to lose one's fortune and become unable to pay one's debts

"another bad investment could break him"

to come into existence

"the crisis had passed, and a new day was breaking"

to depart abruptly from a straight line or course

"the running back broke to his left before running out of bounds"

to diminish the price or value of

"distressing economic news that will break many energy stocks"

to go beyond the limit of

"a menu with prices that is likely to break the budgets of all but the wealthiest of diners"

to penetrate the surface (as of water) from below

"dolphins were breaking all around the boat"

a momentary halt in an activity

"there was a brief break after the first movement as the doors to the concert hall were opened and the latecomers were allowed in"

a period during which the usual routine of school or work is suspended

"most of the students at the boarding school are going home for Christmas break"

an open space in a barrier (as a wall or hedge)

"the rancher repaired the break in the fence where the horse had gotten through"

a favorable combination of circumstances, time, and place

"in classic fashion, her big break came when, as an understudy, she took over for an ailing star"

an unexpected benefit or advantage resulting from the uncertain course of events

"a guy who just seems to get all the breaks in life"

the act or an instance of getting free from danger or confinement

"a desperate break from that hellhole"