Definition of "break"

break¹

/bɹeɪk/

verb
third-person singular simple present breaks, present participle breaking, simple past broke or (archaic) brake, past participle broken or (nonstandard) broke
1. (transitive, intransitive) To separate into two or more pieces, to fracture or crack, by a process that cannot easily be reversed for reassembly.
  Quotations
  First, marinate the tofu. In a bowl, whisk the kecap manis, chilli sauce, and sesame oil together. Cut the tofu into strips about 1cm thick, mix gently (so it doesn't break) with the marinade and leave in the fridge for half an hour.
  2012 May 8, Yotam Ottolenghi, Sami Tamimi, Ottolenghi: The Cookbook‎, Random House, page 79
  1. (transitive, intransitive) To crack or fracture (bone) under a physical strain.
2. (transitive) To divide (something, often money) into smaller units.
3. (transitive) To cause (a person or animal) to lose spirit or will; to crush the spirits of.
  Quotations
  If I had called, and had answered me, yet would I not beleeue that he had hearkened vnto my voice: For he breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without cause.
  1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], Job 9:16–17
  An old man, broken with the storms of state,Is come to lay his weary bones among ye;Give him a little earth for charity
  1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act IV, scene ii]
  1. To turn an animal into a beast of burden.
    Quotations
    Colonel: See, gentlemen? Any horse could be broken.
    2002, John Fusco, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
4. (intransitive) To be crushed, or overwhelmed with sorrow or grief.
5. (transitive) To interrupt; to destroy the continuity of; to dissolve or terminate.
  Quotations
  Go, release them, Ariel; / My charms I'll break, their senses I'll restore.
  1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act V, scene i]
  1. (transitive, theater) To end the run of (a play).
    Quotations
    In July Alexander broke the run and went on tour, as was his custom. He believed in keeping in touch with provincial audiences and how wise he was!
    1958, Walter Macqueen-Pope, St. James's: Theatre of Distinction, page 134
    After Camberwell he broke the play's season and brought it back in the autumn with a few revisions and a noticeably strengthened cast but without any special success.
    1986, Kurt Gänzl, The British Musical Theatre: 1865-1914, page 610
6. (transitive) To ruin financially.
  Quotations
  With arts like these rich Matho, when he speaks, / Attracts all fees, and little lawyers breaks.
  1693, Decimus Junius Juvenalis, John Dryden, transl., “[The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis.] The Seventh Satyr”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […] Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. […], London: Printed for Jacob Tonson […]
7. (intransitive, obsolete) To fail in business; to go broke, to become bankrupt.
  Quotations
  He that puts all upon adventures doth oftentimes break, and come to poverty.
  1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Riches”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret
  ‘I knew he was in some such low way—He broke did not he?’
  1791-92, Jane Austen, ‘A Collection of Letters’, Juvenilia
8. (finance, intransitive) Of prices on the stock exchange: to fall suddenly.
  Quotations
  With a few exceptions, stock prices tend to follow the overall market averages. When you have a market decline, therefore, many stocks share the same overall chart pattern. Prices break and go sideways for a period of time.
  2008, George Angell, Small Stocks for Big Profits
9. (transitive) To violate; to fail to adhere to.
  Quotations
  Out, out Hyæna; theſe are thy wonted arts, [...] To break all faith, all vows, deceive, betray,
  1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […]”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J. M[acock] for John Starkey […], page 48, lines 749–751
10. (intransitive, of a fever) To go down, in terms of temperature, indicating that the most dangerous part of the illness has passed.
11. (intransitive, of a spell of settled weather) To end.
12. (intransitive, of a storm) To begin or end.
13. (intransitive, of morning, dawn, day etc.) To arrive.
  Quotations
  The day begins to break, and night is fled.
  1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act II, scene ii]
14. (transitive, gaming slang) 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.
15. (transitive, intransitive) To stop, or to cause to stop, functioning properly or altogether.
  1. (specifically, in programming) To cause (some feature of a program or piece of software) to stop functioning properly; to cause a regression.
16. (transitive) To cause (a barrier) to no longer bar.
  1. (specifically) To cause the shell of (an egg) to crack, so that the inside (yolk) is accessible.
  2. (specifically) To open (a safe) without using the correct key, combination, or the like.
17. (transitive) To destroy the arrangement of; to throw into disorder; to pierce.
18. (intransitive, of a wave of water) To collapse into surf, after arriving in shallow water. A wave breaking.
19. (intransitive) To burst forth; to make its way; to come into view.
  Quotations
  The Clouds are ſtill above; and, while I ſpeak, / A ſecond deluge o'er our head may break.
  1717, John Dryden, “Book I. [The Gyants War.]”, in Ovid’s Metamorphoses in Fifteen Books. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], page 16
  And from the turf a fountain broke, / And gurgled at our feet.
  1800, William Wordsworth, The Fountain
20. (intransitive) To interrupt or cease one's work or occupation temporarily; to go on break.
21. (transitive) To interrupt (a fall) by inserting something so that the falling object does not (immediately) hit something else beneath.
22. (transitive, ergative) To disclose or make known an item of news, a band, etc.
  Quotations
  Herman's Hermits version of 'I'm Into Something Good' topped the UK charts and also broke the band in the States.
  2010, Jon Kutner, Spencer Leigh, 1,000 UK Number One Hits
  “If something breaks during the day, work hours up until the evening, we’ll cut in — if we’re in the middle of, let’s say, a magazine program or a podcast on tape or a re-air of the game,” Radovich said.
  2023 March 8, Jonathan Tannenwald, “CBS is launching a 24/7 soccer channel online”, in The Philadelphia Inquirer‎
23. (intransitive, of a sound) To become audible suddenly.
  Quotations
  Like the crash of thunderbolts[...], the sound of musquetry broke over the lawn, [...].
  c. 1843, George Lippard, The Battle-Day of Germantown, reprinted in Washington and His Generals "1776", page 45
24. (transitive) To change a steady state abruptly.
25. (transitive, with for) To (attempt to) disengage and flee to; to make a run for.
  Quotations
  As the last firing of the big guns begins to die down, the German light forces still fighting to the west begin to make their choices. Some break for the open sea; others run for the German-occupied coast; still others stand and die. A small group decide to strike their colors, in imitation of three of the larger German ships.
  2018 October 17, Drachinifel, 26:02 from the start, in Last Ride of the High Seas Fleet - Battle of Texel 1918‎, archived from the original on 4 August 2022
26. (copulative, informal) To suddenly become.
27. (intransitive, of a male voice) To become deeper at puberty.
28. (intransitive, of a voice) To alter in type due to emotion or strain: in men, generally to go up, in women, sometimes to go down; to crack.
29. (transitive) To surpass or do better than (a specific number); to do better than (a record), setting a new record.
30. (sports and games) :
  1. (transitive, tennis) To win a game (against one's opponent) as receiver.
    Quotations
    Yet when play restarted the Czech was a train that kept on running over Nadal. After breaking Nadal in the opening game of the final set, he went 2-0 up and later took the count to 4-2 with yet another emphatic ace – one of his 22 throughout.
    2012 June 28, Jamie Jackson, “Wimbledon 2012: Lukas Rosol shocked by miracle win over Rafael Nadal”, in the Guardian‎
  2. (intransitive, billiards, snooker, pool) To make the first shot; to scatter the balls from the initial neat arrangement.
  3. (transitive, backgammon) To remove one of the two men on (a point).
31. (transitive, military, most often in the passive tense) To demote; to reduce the military rank of.
  Quotations
  Sir Reginald Wingate, High Commissioner in Egypt, was happy for the success of the work he had advocated for years. I grudged him this happiness; for McMahon, who took the actual risk of starting it, had been broken just before prosperity began.
  1926, T.E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, New York: Anchor, published 1991, page 167
  And he played no favorites: when his son-in-law sacked a city he had been told to spare, Genghis broke him to private.
  1953 February 9, “Books: First Rulers of Asia”, in Time
  One morning after the budget had failed to balance Finanzminister von Scholz picked up Der Reichsanzeiger and found he had been broken to sergeant.
  1968, William Manchester, The Arms of Krupp, Back Bay, published 2003, page 215
  Not long after this event, Clausen became involved in another disciplinary situation and was broken to private—the only one to win the Medal of Honor in Vietnam.
  2006, Peter Collier, Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty, Second Edition, Artisan Books, page 42
32. (transitive) To end (a connection); to disconnect.
33. (intransitive, of an emulsion) To demulsify.
  Quotations
  Conversely, as the emulsion breaks and the system returns to the original state, energy is released.
  2004, J. L. Atwood, Jonathan W. Steed, Encyclopedia of supramolecular chemistry‎, volume 2, page 1466
  When the droplets hit a solid wall the emulsion breaks instantly forming a bitumen on the wall and thus a layer up to 1 cm thick can be sprayed in one operation without requiring drying in between.
  2006, Johan Sjöblom, Emulsions and emulsion stability‎, volume 22, page 400
34. (intransitive, sports) To counter-attack.
  Quotations
  The Baggies almost hit back instantly when Graham Dorrans broke from midfield and pulled the trigger from 15 yards but Paul Robinson did superbly to tip the Scot's drive around the post.
  2010 December 28, Kevin Darlin, “West Brom 1 - 3 Blackburn”, in BBC‎
35. (transitive, obsolete) To lay open, as a purpose; to disclose, divulge, or communicate.
  Quotations
  Katharine, break thy mind to me.
  1599, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act V, scene ii]
36. (intransitive) To become weakened in constitution or faculties; to lose health or strength.
  Quotations
  See how the dean begins to break; / Poor gentleman he droops apace.
  1731, Verses on His Own Death, Jonathan Swift
37. (transitive) To destroy the strength, firmness, or consistency of.
38. (transitive) To destroy the official character and standing of; to cashier; to dismiss.
  Quotations
  when I see a great officer broke.
  January 11, 1711, Jonathan Swift, The Examiner No. 24
39. (intransitive) To make an abrupt or sudden change; to change gait.
40. (intransitive, archaic) To fall out; to terminate friendship.
  Quotations
  To break upon the score of danger or expense is to be mean and narrow-spirited.
  c. 1700 Jeremy Collier, On Friendship
41. (computing) To terminate the execution of a program before normal completion.
42. (programming) To suspend the execution of a program during debugging so that the state of the program can be investigated.
43. (computing) To cause, or allow the occurrence of, a line break.
noun
plural breaks
1. An instance of breaking something into two or more pieces.
2. A physical space that opens up in something or between two things.
3. An interruption of continuity; departure from or rupture with.
  Quotations
  But the young activists of Move Forward outmanoeuvred the older party, and beat many of its candidates, with an imaginative, social media-based campaign offering voters a complete break with the past, and a different kind of political leadership.
  2023 May 29, Jonathan Head, “Pita Limjaroenrat: Thai election upstart who vows to be different”, in BBC‎
4. A rest or pause, usually from work.
  1. (UK, education) A time for students to talk or play between lessons.
  2. A scheduled interval of days or weeks between periods of school instruction; a holiday.
5. A short holiday.
6. A temporary split with a romantic partner.
7. An interval or intermission between two parts of a performance, for example a theatre show, broadcast, or sports game.
  Quotations
  But they marginally improved after the break as Didier Drogba hit the post.
  2010 December 29, Chris Whyatt, “Chelsea 1 - 0 Bolton”, in BBC‎
8. A significant change in circumstance, attitude, perception, or focus of attention.
9. (finance) A sudden fall in prices on the stock exchange.
  Quotations
  Following the invasion of France by the Germans in May of 1940, the securities markets experienced a break in prices.
  1947, Reports of the Tax Court of the United States, volume 8, page 459
10. The beginning (of the morning).
11. An act of escaping.
12. (computing) The separation between lines, paragraphs or pages of a written text.
  Quotations
  No matter how much text you add above the break, the text after the break will always appear at the top of a new page.
  2001, Nan Barber, David Reynolds, Office 2001 for Macintosh: The Missing Manual, page 138
13. (computing) A keystroke or other signal that causes a program to terminate or suspend execution.
14. (programming) Short for breakpoint.
15. (Britain, weather) A change, particularly the end of a spell of persistent good or bad weather.
16. (sports and games) :
  1. (tennis) A game won by the receiving player(s).
  2. (billiards, snooker, pool) The first shot in a game of billiards.
  3. (snooker) The number of points scored by one player in one visit to the table.
  4. (soccer) The counter-attack.
    Quotations
    Blackpool were not without their opportunities - thanks to their willingness to commit and leave men forward even when under severe pressure - and they looked very capable of scoring on the break.
    2010 December 28, Owen Phillips, “Sunderland 0 - 2 Blackpool”, in BBC‎
  5. (golf) The curve imparted to the ball's motion on the green due to slope or grass texture.
  6. (surfing) A place where waves break (that is, where waves pitch or spill forward creating white water).
  7. (horse racing) The start of a horse race.
    Quotations
    Cigar was distracted at the break and let his five opponents get the jump.
    1999, Jay Hovdey, Cigar: America's Horse, page 63
    Perhaps it stumbles to its knees at the break, effectively losing the race at the outset.
    2010, John Alexander, Exotic Wagering the Winning Way, page 60
17. (dated) A large four-wheeled carriage, having a straight body and calash top, with the driver's seat in front and the footman's behind.
18. (equitation) A sharp bit or snaffle.
  Quotations
  Pampered jades […] which need nor break nor bit.
  1576, George Gascoigne, The Steele Glas
19. (music) A short section of music, often between verses, in which some performers stop while others continue.
20. (music) 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.
21. (music) The transition area between a singer's vocal registers; the passaggio.
  Quotations
  34. Of the Registers of the Voice - All singers have observed that there are certain parts of the Vocal Scale where a break, as it is called, seldom fails to occur.
  1862, John Winebrenner, The Serephina, Or, Christian Library of Church Music‎, page 13
  The point of division between the two vocal registers is most frequently referred to as the register’s break.
  2007, S. Anthony Frisella, The Baritone Voice: A Personal Guide to Acquiring a Superior Singing Technique‎, page 14
  Boys should continue in their high voice, across the break to the lower range, and end up with a voice that doesn’t have a break (Leck, 2009).
  2018, Karen Brunssen, The Evolving Singing Voice: Changes Across the Lifespan‎, page 76
22. (geography, chiefly in the plural) An area along a river that features steep banks, bluffs, or gorges (e.g., Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, US).
23. (obsolete, slang) An error.
  Quotations
  "Maybe he will some day," says the Missus, and then her and Bessie pretended like they'd made a break and was embarrassed.
  1916, Ring W. Lardner, “Three Kings and a Pair”, in The Saturday Evening Post‎

break²

/bɹeɪk/

noun
plural breaks
1. (music) A section of extended repetition of the percussion break to a song, created by a hip-hop DJ as rhythmic dance music.
  Quotations
  The smooth criminal on beat breaks / Never put me in your box if your shit eats tapes
  1994, “N.Y. State of Mind”, in Illmatic, performed by Nas
verb
third-person singular simple present breaks, present participle breaking, simple past and past participle breaked
1. (music, slang) To B-boy; to breakdance.
  Quotations
  Let the poppers pop and the breakers break / We're cool, cool cats, it's like that
  1985, “King of Rock”, performed by Run-DMC

Definition of "break"

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break2

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break¹

break²