to smash, split, or divide into parts violently; reduce to pieces or fragments

He broke a vase.

to infringe, ignore, or act contrary to (a law, rule, promise, etc.)

She broke her promise.

to dissolve or annul (often fol. by off )

to break off friendly relations with another country.

to fracture a bone of (some part of the body)

He broke his leg.

to lacerate; wound

to break the skin.

to destroy or interrupt the regularity, uniformity, continuity, or arrangement of; interrupt

The bleating of a foghorn broke the silence. The troops broke formation.

to put an end to; overcome; stop

His touchdown run broke the tie. She found it hard to break the cigarette habit.

to discover the system, key, method, etc., for decoding or deciphering (a cryptogram), esp. by the methods of cryptanalysis.

to remove a part from (a set or collection)

She had to break the set to sell me the two red ones I wanted.

to exchange for or divide into smaller units or components

She broke a dollar bill into change. The prism broke the light into all the colors of the rainbow.

to make a way through; penetrate

The stone broke the surface of the water.

Law .

to open or force one's way into (a dwelling, store, etc.).

to contest (a will) successfully by judicial action.

to make one's way out of, esp. by force

to break jail.

to better (a given score or record)

He never broke 200 in bowling or 80 in golf.

to disclose or divulge personally in speech or writing

He broke the good news to her at dinner.

to solve

The police needed only a week to break that case.

to rupture (a blood vessel)

She almost broke a blood vessel from laughing so hard.

to disable or destroy by or as if by shattering or crushing

to break a watch.

to cause (a blister, boil, or the like) to burst, as by puncturing

She broke the blister with a needle.

to ruin financially; make bankrupt

They threatened to break him if he didn't stop discounting their products.

to overcome or wear down the spirit, strength, or resistance of; to cause to yield, esp. under pressure, torture, or the like

They broke him by the threat of blackmail.

to dismiss or reduce in rank.

to impair or weaken the power, effect, or intensity of

His arm broke the blow.

to train to obedience; tame

to break a horse.

to train away from a habit or practice (usually fol. by of ).

Electricity . to render (a circuit) incomplete; stop the flow of (a current).

Journalism .

to release (a story) for publication or airing on radio or television

They will break the story tomorrow.

to continue (a story or article) on another page, esp. when the page is not the following one.

Pool . to cause (racked billiard balls) to scatter by striking with the cue ball.

Sports .

(of a pitcher, bowler, etc.) to hurl (a ball) in such a way as to cause it to change direction after leaving the hand

He broke a curve over the plate for a strike.

(in tennis and other racket games) to score frequently or win against (an opponent's serve).

Nautical . to unfurl (a flag) suddenly by an easily released knot.

to prove the falsity or show the lack of logic of

The FBI broke his alibi by proving he knew how to shoot a pistol.

to begin or initiate (a plan or campaign), esp. with much publicity

They were going to break the sales campaign with a parade in April.

to open the breech or action of (a shotgun, rifle, or revolver), as by snapping open the hinge between the barrel and the butt.

to shatter, burst, or become broken; separate into parts or fragments, esp. suddenly and violently

The glass broke on the floor.

to become suddenly discontinuous or interrupted; stop abruptly

She pulled too hard and the string broke.

to become detached, separated, or disassociated (usually fol. by away, off, or from )

The knob broke off in his hand.

to become inoperative or to malfunction, as through wear or damage

The television set broke this afternoon.

to begin suddenly or violently or change abruptly into something else

War broke over Europe.

to begin uttering a sound or series of sounds or to be uttered suddenly

She broke into song. When they entered, a cheer broke from the audience.

to express or start to express an emotion or mood

His face broke into a smile.

to free oneself or escape suddenly, as from restraint or dependency (often fol. by away )

He broke away from the arresting officer. She finally broke away from her parents and got an apartment of her own.

to run or dash toward something suddenly (usually fol. by for )

The pass receiver broke for the goal line.

to force a way (usually fol. by in, into, or through )

The hunters broke through the underbrush.

to burst or rupture

A blood vessel broke in his nose. The blister broke when he pricked it.

to interrupt or halt an activity (usually fol. by in, into, forth, or from )

Don't break in on the conversation. Let's break for lunch.

to appear or arrive suddenly (usually fol. by in, into, or out )

A deer broke into the clearing. A rash broke out on her arm.

to dawn

The day broke hot and sultry.

to begin violently and suddenly

The storm broke.

(of a storm, foul weather, etc.) to cease

The weather broke after a week, and we were able to sail for home.

to part the surface of water, as a jumping fish or surfacing submarine.

to give way or fail, as health, strength, or spirit; collapse

After years of hardship and worry, his health broke.

to yield or submit to pressure, torture, or the like

He broke under questioning.

(of the heart) to be overwhelmed with sorrow

Her heart broke when he told her that he no longer loved her.

(of the voice or a musical instrument) to change harshly from one register or pitch to another

After his voice broke, he could no longer sing soprano parts.

(of the voice) to cease, waver, or change tone abruptly, esp. from emotional strain

His voice broke when he mentioned her name.

(of value or prices) to drop sharply and considerably.

to disperse or collapse by colliding with something

The waves broke on the shore.

to break dance.

(of a horse in a harness race) to fail to keep to a trot or pace, as by starting to gallop.

Botany . to mutate; sport.

Linguistics . to undergo breaking.

Billiards, Pool . to make a break; take the first turn in a game.

Sports . (of a pitched or bowled ball) to change direction

The ball broke over the plate.

Horse Racing, Track . to leave the starting point

The horses broke fast from the gate.

Boxing . to step back or separate from a clinch

The fighters fell into a clinch and broke on the referee's order.

to take place; occur.

Journalism . to become known, published, or aired

The story broke in the morning papers.

Horticulture . to produce flowers or leaves.

an act or instance of breaking; disruption or separation of parts; fracture; rupture

There was a break in the window.

an opening made by breaking; gap

The break in the wall had not been repaired.

a rush away from a place; an attempt to escape

a break for freedom.

a sudden dash or rush, as toward something

When the rain lessened, I made a break for home.

a suspension of or sudden rupture in friendly relations.

an interruption of continuity; departure from or rupture with

Abstract painters made a break with the traditions of the past.

an abrupt or marked change, as in sound or direction, or a brief pause

They noticed a curious break in his voice.

Informal .

an opportunity or stroke of fortune, esp. a lucky one.

a chance to improve one's lot, esp. one unlooked for or undeserved.

the breaks, Informal . the way things happen; fate

Sorry to hear about your bad luck, but I guess those are the breaks.

a brief rest, as from work

The actors took a ten-minute break from rehearsal.

Radio, Television . a brief, scheduled interruption of a program or broadcasting period for the announcement of advertising or station identification.

Prosody . a pause or caesura.

Jazz . a solo passage, usually of from 2 to 12 bars, during which the rest of the instruments are silent.

Music . the point in the scale where the quality of voice of one register changes to that of another, as from chest to head.

break dancing.

a sharp and considerable drop in the prices of stock issues.

Electricity . an opening or discontinuity in a circuit.

Printing .

one or more blank lines between two paragraphs.

breaks. suspension points.

the place, after a letter, where a word is or may be divided at the end of a line.

a collapse of health, strength, or spirit; breakdown.

Informal . an indiscreet or awkward remark or action; social blunder; faux pas.

Billiards, Pool . a series of successful strokes; run.

Pool . the opening play, in which the cue ball is shot to scatter the balls.

Sports . a change in direction of a pitched or bowled ball.

Horse Racing, Track . the start of a race.

(in harness racing) an act or instance of a horse's changing from a trot or pace into a gallop or other step.

Bowling . a failure to knock down all ten pins in a single frame.

Boxing . an act or instance of stepping back or separating from a clinch

a clean break.

any of several stages in the grinding of grain in which the bran is separated from the kernel.

Botany . a sport.

Journalism . the point at the bottom of a column where a printed story is carried over to another column or page.

Nautical . the place at which a superstructure, deckhouse, or the like, rises from the main deck of a vessel.

breaks, Physical Geography . an area dissected by small ravines and gullies.

Mining . a fault or offset, as in a vein or bed of ore. ?

break away,

to leave or escape, esp. suddenly or hurriedly.

to sever connections or allegiance, as to tradition or a political group.

to start prematurely

The horse broke away from the starting gate.

break back, Tennis . to win a game served by an opponent immediately after the opponent has done so against one's own serve.

break down,

to become ineffective.

to lose control; weaken

He broke down and wept at the sad news.

to have a physical or mental collapse.

to cease to function

The car broke down.

to itemize

to break down a hotel bill into daily charges.

Chemistry . to separate (a compound) into its constituent molecules.

Electricity . (of an insulator) to fail, as when subjected to excessively high voltage, permitting a current to pass.

to decompose.

to analyze.

to classify.

to separate into constituent parts

to break down a beef carcass into basic cuts.

break in,

to enter by force or craft

Someone broke in and made off with all the furniture.

to train or instruct; initiate

The boss is breaking in a new assistant.

to begin to wear or use in order to make comfortable

These shoes haven't been broken in.

to interrupt

He broke in with a ridiculous objection.

to run (new machinery) initially under reduced load and speed, until any stiffness of motion has departed and all parts are ready to operate under normal service conditions; run in; wear in.

break in on or upon, to enter with force upon or accidentally interrupt; intrude upon

The visitor opened the wrong door and broke in on a private conference.

break into,

to interpose; interrupt

He broke into the conversation at a crucial moment.

to begin some activity.

to be admitted into; enter, as a business or profession

It is difficult to break into the theater.

to enter by force

They broke into the store and stole the safe.

break off,

to sever by breaking.

to stop suddenly; discontinue

to break off a conversation; to break off relations with one's neighbors.

break out,

to begin abruptly; arise

An epidemic broke out.

Pathology . (of certain diseases) to appear in eruptions.

(of a person) to manifest a skin eruption.

to prepare for use

to break out the parachutes.

to take out of (storage, concealment, etc.) for consumption

to break out one's best wine.

Nautical . to dislodge (the anchor) from the bottom.

to escape; flee

He spent three years in prison before he broke out.

to separate into categories or list specific items

to break out gift ideas according to price range; The report breaks out quarterly profits and losses.

break up,

to separate; scatter.

to put an end to; discontinue.

to divide or become divided into pieces.

to dissolve.

to disrupt; upset

Television commercials during a dramatic presentation break up the continuity of effect.

(of a personal relationship) to end

to break up a friendship; Their marriage broke up last year.

to end a personal relationship

Bob and Mary broke up last month.

to be or cause to be overcome with laughter

The comedian told several jokes that broke up the audience.

break with,

to sever relations with; separate from

to break with one's family.

to depart from; repudiate

to break with tradition.

break bulk

Nautical . to remove a cargo wholly or in part.

break camp

to pack up tents and equipment and resume a journey or march

They broke camp at dawn and proceeded toward the mountains.

break even, to finish a business transaction, period of gambling, series of games, etc.

with no loss or gain

He played poker all night and broke even.

break ground

to begin construction, esp. of a building or group of buildings

to break ground for a new housing development.

Nautical . to free an anchor from the bottom; break out.

break it down

Australian Slang .

stop it; calm down.

(used as an exclamation of disbelief) that can't be true!

break one's heart. heart ( def. 20 ) .

break service

Tennis . to win a game served by one's opponent.

break sheer

Nautical . (of an anchored vessel) to drift into such a position as to risk fouling the anchor or anchor cable. Compare sheer 2 ( def. 6 ) .

break step. step ( def. 37 ) .

break wind. wind 1 ( def. 26 ) .

verb

appear , arise , begin , burst forth , commence , erupt , explode , occur , set in , spring up , start , abscond , bolt , break loose , burst out , bust out , depart , flee , get free , leave , break