Pronunciation: brāk
[imp. broke (brōk), (Obs. Brake); p. p. Broken (brō"k'n), (Obs. Broke); p. pr. & vb. n. Breaking.]
Katharine, break thy mind to me.
- Shak.
8.To shatter to pieces; to reduce to fragments.
I'll rather leap down first, and break your fall.
- Dryden.
13.To impart, as news or information; to broach; - with to, and often with a modified word implying some reserve; as, to break the news gently to the widow; to break a purpose cautiously to a friend.
Why, then thou canst not break her to the lute?
- Shak.
To break down
a - To crush; to overwhelm; as, to break down one's strength; to break down opposition.
To break in
a - To force in; as, to break in a door.
b - To train; to discipline; as, a horse well broken in.
To break of
To break off
a - To separate by breaking; as, to break off a twig.
b - To stop suddenly; to abandon.
To break open
to open by breaking.
- Dan. iv. 27.
To break out
- Shak.
To break out a cargo
to unstow a cargo, so as to unload it easily.
To break through
b - To disregard; as, to break through the ceremony.
To break up
a - To separate into parts; to plow (new or fallow ground).
b - To dissolve; to put an end to.
- Shak.
To break
to unsettle or disconcert completely; to upset.
- Shak.
To break the back
a - To dislocate the backbone; hence, to disable totally.
b - To get through the worst part of; as, to break the back of a difficult undertaking.
To break bulk
To break a code
To break cover
To break a deer
To break fast
to partake of food after abstinence. See Breakfast.
To break ground
b - Fig.: To begin to execute any plan.
c - (Naut.) To release the anchor from the bottom.
To break the heart
to crush or overwhelm (one) with grief.
To break a house
To break the ice
To break jail
to escape from confinement in jail, usually by forcible means.
To break a jest
to utter a jest.
To break joints
- Shak.
To break a lance
to engage in a tilt or contest.
To break the neck
to dislocate the joints of the neck.
To break no squares
to create no trouble.
To break a path
to open a way through obstacles by force or labor.
To break upon a wheel
to execute or torture, as a criminal by stretching him upon a wheel, and breaking his limbs with an iron bar; - a mode of punishment formerly employed in some countries.
To break wind
to give vent to wind from the anus.
Else the bottle break, and the wine runneth out.
- Math. ix. 17.
The day begins to break, and night is fled.
- Shak.
4.To burst forth violently, as a storm.
At length the darkness begins to break.
- Macaulay.
8.To fall in business; to become bankrupt.
11.To fall out; to terminate friendship.
To break away
To break down
a - To come down by breaking; as, the coach broke down.
c - To cease functioning or to malfunction; as, the car broke down in the middle of the highway.
n.1.An opening made by fracture or disruption.
2.(Arch.) An interruption of continuity; change of direction; as, a break in a wall; a break in the deck of a ship.
3.An interruption; a pause; as, a break in friendship; a break in the conversation.
4.An interruption in continuity in writing or printing, as where there is an omission, an unfilled line, etc.
7.A device for checking motion, or for measuring friction. See Brake, n. 9 & 10.
8.(Teleg.) See Commutator.
Noun1.break - some abrupt occurrence that interrupts; "the telephone is an annoying interruption"; "there was a break in the action when a player was hurt"
Synonyms: interruption
2.break - an unexpected piece of good luck; "he finally got his big break"
4.break - a personal or social separation (as between opposing factions); "they hoped to avoid a break in relations"
5.break - a pause from doing something (as work); "we took a 10-minute break"; "he took time out to recuperate"
Synonyms: time out, respite, recess
6.Breakbreak - the act of breaking something; "the breakage was unavoidable"
Synonyms: breaking, breakage
7.Breakbreak - a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
Synonyms: fracture
9.break - the occurrence of breaking; "the break in the dam threatened the valley"
10.break - the opening shot that scatters the balls in billiards or pool
Synonyms: break of serve
12.break - an act of delaying or interrupting the continuity; "it was presented without commercial breaks"
13.break - a sudden dash; "he made a break for the open door"
Synonyms: open frame
15.Breakbreak - an escape from jail; "the breakout was carefully planned"
Verb1.break - terminate; "She interrupted her pregnancy"; "break a lucky streak"; "break the cycle of poverty"
Synonyms: interrupt
2.break - become separated into pieces or fragments; "The figurine broke"; "The freshly baked loaf fell apart"
4.break - render inoperable or ineffective; "You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!"
5.break - ruin completely; "He busted my radio!"
Synonyms: bust
fix, furbish up, mend, repair, bushel, doctor, touch on, restore - restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken; "She repaired her TV set"; "Repair my shoes please"
6.break - act in disregard of laws and rules; "offend all laws of humanity"; "violate the basic laws or human civilization"; "break a law"
8.break - scatter or part; "The clouds broke after the heavy downpour"
9.break - force out or release suddenly and often violently something pent up; "break into tears"; "erupt in anger"
Synonyms: burst, erupt
10.break - prevent completion; "stop the project"; "break off the negociations"
Synonyms: break in
12.break - make submissive, obedient, or useful; "The horse was tough to break"; "I broke in the new intern"
Synonyms: break in
Synonyms: go against, violate
14.break - surpass in excellence; "She bettered her own record"; "break a record"
Synonyms: better
18.break - interrupt a continued activity; "She had broken with the traditional patterns"
Synonyms: break away
19.break - make a rupture in the ranks of the enemy or one's own by quitting or fleeing; "The ranks broke"
20.break - curl over and fall apart in surf or foam, of waves; "The surf broke"
21.break - lessen in force or effect; "soften a shock"; "break a fall"
Synonyms: soften, damp, weaken, dampen
22.break - be broken in; "If the new teacher won't break, we'll add some stress"
23.break - come to an end; "The heat wave finally broke yesterday"
24.break - vary or interrupt a uniformity or continuity; "The flat plain was broken by tall mesas"
25.break - cause to give up a habit; "She finally broke herself of smoking cigarettes"
26.break - give up; "break cigarette smoking"
27.break - come forth or begin from a state of latency; "The first winter storm broke over New York"
29.break - cause the failure or ruin of; "His peccadilloes finally broke his marriage"; "This play will either make or break the playwright"
30.break - invalidate by judicial action; "The will was broken"
33.break - reduce to bankruptcy; "My daughter's fancy wedding is going to break me!"; "The slump in the financial markets smashed him"
Synonyms: bankrupt, ruin, smash
34.break - change directions suddenly
35.break - emerge from the surface of a body of water; "The whales broke"
37.break - do a break dance; "Kids were break-dancing at the street corner"
38.break - exchange for smaller units of money; "I had to break a $100 bill just to buy the candy"
39.break - destroy the completeness of a set of related items; "The book dealer would not break the set"
Synonyms: break up
40.break - make the opening shot that scatters the balls
41.break - separate from a clinch, in boxing; "The referee broke the boxers"
42.break - go to pieces; "The lawn mower finally broke"; "The gears wore out"; "The old chair finally fell apart completely"
43.break - break a piece from a whole; "break a branch from a tree"
Synonyms: snap off, break off
44.break - become punctured or penetrated; "The skin broke"
45.break - pierce or penetrate; "The blade broke her skin"
Synonyms: get around, get out
47.break - cease an action temporarily; "We pause for station identification"; "let's break for lunch"
Synonyms: intermit, pause
48.break - interrupt the flow of current in; "break a circuit"
49.break - undergo breaking; "The simple vowels broke in many Germanic languages"
50.break - find a flaw in; "break an alibi"; "break down a proof"
51.break - find the solution or key to; "break the code"
52.break - change suddenly from one tone quality or register to another; "Her voice broke to a whisper when she started to talk about her children"
Synonyms: recrudesce, develop
54.break - become fractured; break or crack on the surface only; "The glass cracked when it was heated"
Synonyms: crack, check
55.break - of the male voice in puberty; "his voice is breaking--he should no longer sing in the choir"
56.break - fall sharply; "stock prices broke"
57.break - fracture a bone of; "I broke my foot while playing hockey"
Synonyms: fracture
58.break - diminish or discontinue abruptly; "The patient's fever broke last night"
59.break - weaken or destroy in spirit or body; "His resistance was broken"; "a man broken by the terrible experience of near-death"
1.break - To cause to be broken (in any sense). "Your latest patch to the editor broke the paragraph commands."
2.break - (Of a program) To stop temporarily, so that it may debugged. The place where it stops is a "breakpoint".
3.break - To send an EIA-232 break (two character widths of line high) over a serial line.
6.break - pipeline break.
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wont, worsen, worsening, wound, wounds immedicable, wrench, yaw, yield, yoke
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breadfruit tree
breadth first search
breadth index
-- Break --
break apart
break away
break bread
break camp
break dance
break dancing
break down
break even
break in
break into
break loose
break of day
break of serve
break of the day
break off
break one's back
