break

Fetched 2026-10-28 (live).

Synonyms: bleak, freak, creak, wreak, beak, brak, reak, bream, brek, bread, brea

Antonyms: bleak, freak, creak, wreak, beak, brak, reak, bream, brek, bread, brea

Related words from Datamuse; suggestions, not definitions.

Verb

1. To separate into two or more pieces, to fracture or crack, by a process that cannot easily be reversed for reassembly.
   • If the vase falls to the floor, it might break.
   • In order to tend to the accident victim, he will break the window of the car.
   • His ribs broke under the weight of the rocks piled on his chest.
   • He slipped on the ice and broke his leg.
   • Is it your or my turn to break?
   • Can you break a hundred-dollar bill for me?
   • The wholesaler broke the container loads into palettes and boxes for local retailers.
   • I don't want to break my hundred dollar bill.
   • The soldier broke formation.
   • You have to break the soil with the ho.
2. To crack or fracture (bone) under a physical strain.
   • His ribs broke under the weight of the rocks piled on his chest.
   • He slipped on the ice and broke his leg.
3. To make the first shot; to scatter the balls from the initial neat arrangement.
   • Is it your or my turn to break?
4. To divide (something, often money) into smaller units.
   • Can you break a hundred-dollar bill for me?
   • The wholesaler broke the container loads into palettes and boxes for local retailers.
   • I don't want to break my hundred dollar bill.
5. To use a high-value denomination of currency, thus necessitating being given change in smaller denominations.
   • I don't want to break my hundred dollar bill.
6. To change the orderliness or compactness of an arrangement.
   • The soldier broke formation.
7. To disrupt the surface of and turn over the body of a substance.
   • You have to break the soil with the ho.
8. To cause (a person or animal) to lose spirit or will; to crush the spirits of.
   • Her child’s death broke Angela.
   • Interrogators have used many forms of torture to break prisoners of war.
   • The interrogator hoped to break her to get her testimony against her accomplices.
   • My heart is breaking.
   • You have to break an elephant before you can use it as an animal of burden.
9. To be crushed, or overwhelmed with sorrow or grief.
   • My heart is breaking.
10. To turn an animal into a beast of burden.
    • You have to break an elephant before you can use it as an animal of burden.
11. To destroy the strength, firmness, or consistency of.
    • to break flax
    • break the enemy
    • He needs to break serve to win the match.
12. To become weakened in constitution or faculties; to lose health or strength.
13. To destroy the official character and standing of; to cashier; to dismiss.
14. To demote; to reduce the military rank of.
15. To end (something) as a meaningful force.
    • break the enemy
16. To win a game (against one's opponent) as receiver.
    • He needs to break serve to win the match.
17. To remove one of the two men on (a point).
18. To interrupt; to destroy the continuity of; to dissolve or terminate.
    • I’ve got to break this habit I have of biting my nails. Can you break this habit of mine?
    • to break silence; to break one's sleep; to break one’s journey
    • I had won four games in a row, but now you've broken my streak of luck.
    • The referee ordered the boxers to break the clinch.
    • The referee broke the boxers' clinch.
    • I couldn’t hear a thing he was saying, so I broke the connection and called him back.
    • to break an electric circuit
    • The recession broke some small businesses.
    • His actions could break my career.
    • He broke the lease.
    • She broke the matching set by buying a one of a kind item.
19. To end (a connection); to disconnect.
    • The referee ordered the boxers to break the clinch.
    • The referee broke the boxers' clinch.
    • I couldn’t hear a thing he was saying, so I broke the connection and called him back.
    • to break an electric circuit
20. To ruin financially; to harm.
    • The recession broke some small businesses.
    • His actions could break my career.
21. To end the run of (a play).
22. Of prices on the stock exchange: to fall suddenly.
23. To violate a contract or end the applicability of a will.
    • He broke the lease.
24. To end the continuity or consistency of something.
    • She broke the matching set by buying a one of a kind item.
25. To fail in business; to go broke, to become bankrupt.
26. To fall out; to terminate friendship.
27. To change a steady state abruptly.
    • His coughing broke the silence.
    • His turning on the lights broke the enchantment.
    • With the mood broken, what we had been doing seemed pretty silly.
    • The dolphin broke the water by jumping into the air.
    • It's time to break a trail through the park.
    • Her promotion broke America's racial barriers.
    • He broke from prison.
    • She broke jail.
    • to break into a run or gallop
    • That news broke the case wide open.
    • The detectives broke the Hamptons murder.
    • It's vital we break the code.
    • Susan's fever broke at about 3 AM, and the doctor said the worst was over.
    • The treatment broke my fever.
    • Carl broke his fever this morning.
    • The forecast says the hot weather will break by midweek.
    • We ran to find shelter before the storm broke.
    • Around midday the storm broke, and the afternoon was calm and sunny.
    • Morning has broken.
    • The day broke crisp and clear.
    • The newsman wanted to break a big story, something that would make him famous.
    • I don’t know how to break this to you, but your cat is not coming back.
    • When news of their divorce broke...
    • zero-width non-breaking space
28. To disrupt a surface.
    • The dolphin broke the water by jumping into the air.
29. To make by forcing one's way through.
    • It's time to break a trail through the park.
30. To force one's way through.
    • Her promotion broke America's racial barriers.
31. To escape.
    • He broke from prison.
    • She broke jail.
32. To make an abrupt or sudden change; to change gait.
    • to break into a run or gallop
33. To (attempt to) disengage and flee to; to make a run for.
34. To burst forth; to make its way; to come into view.
35. To collapse into surf, after arriving in shallow water. A wave breaking.
36. To solve a code or case.
    • That news broke the case wide open.
    • The detectives broke the Hamptons murder.
    • It's vital we break the code.
37. To end a fever. To go down, in terms of temperature, indicating that the most dangerous part of the illness has passed.
    • Susan's fever broke at about 3 AM, and the doctor said the worst was over.
    • The treatment broke my fever.
    • Carl broke his fever this morning.
38. To go down, in terms of temperature, indicating that the most dangerous part of the illness has passed.
    • Susan's fever broke at about 3 AM, and the doctor said the worst was over.
39. To successfully treat or resist (a fever).
    • The treatment broke my fever.
    • Carl broke his fever this morning.
40. To end.
    • The forecast says the hot weather will break by midweek.
41. To begin or end.
    • We ran to find shelter before the storm broke.
    • Around midday the storm broke, and the afternoon was calm and sunny.
42. To arrive.
    • Morning has broken.
    • The day broke crisp and clear.
43. To counter-attack.
44. To disclose or make known an item of news, a band, etc.
    • The newsman wanted to break a big story, something that would make him famous.
    • I don’t know how to break this to you, but your cat is not coming back.
    • When news of their divorce broke...
45. To cause, or allow the occurrence of, a line break.
    • zero-width non-breaking space
46. To stop, or to cause to stop, functioning properly or altogether.
    • On the hottest day of the year the refrigerator broke.
    • Did you two break the trolley by racing with it?
    • When you go to Vancouver, promise me you won't break the law.
    • He broke his vows by cheating on his wife.
    • to break one’s word
    • Time travel would break the laws of physics.
    • Changing the rules to let white have three extra queens would break chess.
    • I broke the RPG by training every member of my party to cast fireballs as well as use swords.
    • The detectives will break her alibi.
    • to break a seal
    • to break the skin
    • to break a spell
    • The cavalry were not able to break the British squares.
    • Adding 64-bit support broke backward compatibility with earlier versions.
    • He survived the jump out the window because the bushes below broke his fall.
    • He broke the men's 100-meter record.
    • I can't believe she broke 3 under par!
    • The policeman broke sixty on a residential street in his hurry to catch the thief.
    • He's hoping to break 90.
    • He broke a thirty-yard run.
47. To violate; to fail to adhere to.
    • When you go to Vancouver, promise me you won't break the law.
    • He broke his vows by cheating on his wife.
    • to break one’s word
    • Time travel would break the laws of physics.
48. To render (a game) unchallenging by altering its rules or exploiting loopholes or weaknesses in them in a way that gives a player an unfair advantage.
    • Changing the rules to let white have three extra queens would break chess.
    • I broke the RPG by training every member of my party to cast fireballs as well as use swords.
49. To prove a falsity.
    • The detectives will break her alibi.
50. To cause (a barrier) to no longer bar; to rupture; to render a barrier ineffective.
    • to break a seal
    • to break the skin
    • to break a spell
51. To cause the shell of (an egg) to crack, so that the inside (yolk) is accessible.
52. To open (a safe) without using the correct key, combination, or the like.
53. To destroy the arrangement of; to throw into disorder; to pierce.
    • The cavalry were not able to break the British squares.
    • Adding 64-bit support broke backward compatibility with earlier versions.
54. To cause (some feature of a program or piece of software) to stop functioning properly; to cause a regression.
    • Adding 64-bit support broke backward compatibility with earlier versions.
55. To interrupt (a fall) by inserting something or by being place such that the falling object does not (immediately) hit something else beneath.
    • He survived the jump out the window because the bushes below broke his fall.
56. To surpass or do better than (a specific number); to do better than (a record), setting a new record.
    • He broke the men's 100-meter record.
    • I can't believe she broke 3 under par!
    • The policeman broke sixty on a residential street in his hurry to catch the thief.
    • He's hoping to break 90.
    • He broke a thirty-yard run.
57. To do better than a specified value.
    • He's hoping to break 90.
58. To get past defenders, resulting in a specified run.
    • He broke a thirty-yard run.
59. To terminate the execution of a program before normal completion.
60. To suspend the execution of a program during debugging so that the state of the program can be investigated.
61. To suddenly become.
    • Things began breaking bad for him when his parents died.
    • The arrest was standard, when suddenly the suspect broke ugly.
    • If you cook it too long, coconut milk will break.
    • A microwave will create hot spots that can break the sauce.
    • His voice breaks when he gets emotional.
    • Let's break for lunch.
62. To lose a texture. To de-emulsify.
    • If you cook it too long, coconut milk will break.
    • A microwave will create hot spots that can break the sauce.
63. To de-emulsify.
    • If you cook it too long, coconut milk will break.
    • A microwave will create hot spots that can break the sauce.
64. To become overwhipped and thus lose its texture.
65. To become audible suddenly.
66. To become deeper at puberty.
67. To alter in type due to emotion or strain: in men, generally to go up, in women, sometimes to go down; to crack.
    • His voice breaks when he gets emotional.
68. To interrupt or cease one's work or occupation temporarily; to go on break.
    • Let's break for lunch.
69. To lay open, as a purpose; to disclose, divulge, or communicate.
70. To open a break-action breechloader.

Noun

1. An instance of breaking something into two or more pieces.
   • The femur has a clean break and so should heal easily.
2. A physical space that opens up in something or between two things.
   • The sun came out in a break in the clouds.
   • He waited minutes for a break in the traffic to cross the highway.
3. An interruption of continuity; departure from or rupture with something.
4. A rest or pause, usually from work.
   • Let’s take a five-minute break.
   • be on break
   • get on break
   • winter break, spring break
5. A time for students to talk or play between lessons.
6. A scheduled interval of days or weeks between periods of school instruction; a holiday.
   • winter break, spring break
7. A short holiday.
   • a weekend break on the Isle of Wight
8. A temporary split with a romantic partner.
   • I think we need a break.
9. An interval or intermission between two parts of a performance, for example a theatre show, broadcast, or sports game.
10. A significant change in circumstance, attitude, perception, or focus of attention.
    • big break
    • lucky break, bad break
    • them's the breaks
11. A sudden fall in prices on the stock exchange.
12. The beginning (of the morning).
    • daybreak
    • at the break of day
13. An act of escaping.
    • to make a break for it; to make a break for the door
    • It was a clean break.
    • prison break
14. The separation between lines, paragraphs or pages of a written text.
15. A keystroke or other signal that causes a program to terminate or suspend execution.
16. Ellipsis of breakpoint.
17. A change, particularly the end of a spell of persistent good or bad weather.
18. : A game won by the receiving player(s). The first shot in a game of billiards. The number of points scored by one player in one visit to the table. The counter-attack. The curve imparted to the ball's motion on the green due to slope or grass texture. A place where waves break (that is, where waves pitch or spill forward creating white water).
    • The final break in the Greenmount area is Kirra Point.
19. A game won by the receiving player(s).
20. The first shot in a game of billiards.
21. The number of points scored by one player in one visit to the table.
22. The counter-attack.
23. The curve imparted to the ball's motion on the green due to slope or grass texture.
24. A place where waves break (that is, where waves pitch or spill forward creating white water).
    • The final break in the Greenmount area is Kirra Point.
25. The start of a horse race.
26. The opening of packages of cards for a collectible card game, often for further distribution to paying customers.
27. A large four-wheeled carriage, having a straight body and calash top, with the driver's seat in front and the footman's behind.
28. Alternative form of brake (“cart or carriage without a body, for breaking in horses”)
29. A sharp bit or snaffle.
30. A short section of music, often between verses, in which some performers stop while others continue.
    • The fiddle break was amazing; it was a pity the singer came back in on the wrong note.
31. The point in the musical scale at which a woodwind instrument is designed to overblow, that is, to move from its lower to its upper register.
    • Crossing the break smoothly is one of the first lessons the young clarinettist needs to master.
32. The transition area between a singer's vocal registers; the passaggio.
33. An area along a river that features steep banks, bluffs, or gorges (e.g., Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, US).
34. An error. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}
35. A crease or fold arising where the pants leg reaches the shoe.
    • A full break or even multiple breaks is an older, more conservative style, as modern pants often end well above the shoe, so there is no break.

Noun

1. A section of extended repetition of the percussion break to a song, created by a hip-hop DJ as rhythmic dance music.

Verb

1. To B-boy; to breakdance.
2. To brake.

Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wiktionary) · cached copy, not a rewrite.