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Definition of Break
1. Noun. Some abrupt occurrence that interrupts an ongoing activity. "There was a break in the action when a player was hurt"
Generic synonyms: Happening, Natural Event, Occurrence, Occurrent
Specialized synonyms: Dislocation, Disruption, Punctuation, Abatement, Hiatus, Reprieve, Respite, Suspension, Eclipse, Occultation
2. Verb. Terminate. "Break the cycle of poverty"
Generic synonyms: End, Terminate
Specialized synonyms: Hold On, Stop, Break Off, Break Short, Cut Short, Freeze, Suspend
3. Noun. An unexpected piece of good luck. "He finally got his big break"
4. Verb. Become separated into pieces or fragments. "These glasses break easily"; "The freshly baked loaf fell apart"
Generic synonyms: Change Integrity
Specialized synonyms: Break Open, Burst, Split, Puncture, Burst, Bust, Smash, Ladder, Run, Crack, Snap, Break Up, Fragment, Fragmentise, Fragmentize, Crush
Also: Break Up
Derivative terms: Breakable
5. Verb. Render inoperable or ineffective. "You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!"
Related verbs: Break Down, Conk Out, Die, Fail, Give Out, Give Way, Go, Go Bad
Derivative terms: Breakage
6. Noun. (geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other. "He studied the faulting of the earth's crust"
Category relationships: Geology
Terms within: Fault Line
Generic synonyms: Cleft, Crack, Crevice, Fissure, Scissure
Specialized synonyms: Denali Fault, San Andreas Fault
Specialized synonyms: Inclined Fault, Strike-slip Fault
Derivative terms: Fracture
7. Verb. Ruin completely. "He busted my radio!"
Causes: Bust, Fall Apart, Wear, Wear Out
Related verbs: Bust, Fall Apart, Wear, Wear Out
Specialized synonyms: Break Down
Generic synonyms: Destroy, Ruin
Also: Break Apart, Break Down, Break Off, Break Up, Break Up, Bust Up
Derivative terms: Breakable, Breakage, Bust, Buster
Antonyms: Repair
8. Noun. A personal or social separation (as between opposing factions). "They hoped to avoid a break in relations"
Specialized synonyms: Schism
Generic synonyms: Breakup, Detachment, Separation
Derivative terms: Sever
9. Noun. A pause from doing something (as work). "He took time out to recuperate"
Generic synonyms: Pause
Specialized synonyms: Spring Break
Derivative terms: Recess
10. Verb. Destroy the integrity of; usually by force; cause to separate into pieces or fragments. "The girls break the wooden sticks"; "She broke the match"
Related verbs: Come Apart, Fall Apart, Separate, Split Up
Generic synonyms: Divide, Separate
Derivative terms: Breakable, Breakage, Breaker
11. Noun. The act of breaking something. "The breakage was unavoidable"
Generic synonyms: Change Of Integrity
Specialized synonyms: Rupture, Shattering, Smashing, Crack, Cracking, Fracture, Chip, Chipping, Splintering
12. Verb. Act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises. "Break a promise"
Generic synonyms: Disrespect
Specialized synonyms: Sin, Transgress, Trespass, Blunder, Boob, Drop The Ball, Goof, Sin, Conflict, Contravene, Infringe, Run Afoul, Trespass, Intrude, Trespass
Derivative terms: Breach, Infraction, Offence, Offender, Offense, Offensive, Offensive, Transgression, Transgressor, Violable, Violative, Violator
Antonyms: Keep
13. Noun. A time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something.
Generic synonyms: Interval, Time Interval
Specialized synonyms: Lapse, Blackout, Caesura, Dead Air, Delay, Hold, Postponement, Time Lag, Wait, Halftime, Relief, Respite, Rest, Rest Period, Time-out, Letup, Lull
Derivative terms: Pause, Pause, Suspend
14. Verb. Move away or escape suddenly. "Nobody can break out--this prison is high security"
Generic synonyms: Break Loose, Escape, Get Away
Derivative terms: Breakout
15. Noun. Breaking of hard tissue such as bone. "The break seems to have been caused by a fall"
Generic synonyms: Harm, Hurt, Injury, Trauma
Specialized synonyms: Comminuted Fracture, Complete Fracture, Compound Fracture, Open Fracture, Compression Fracture, Depressed Fracture, Displaced Fracture, Fatigue Fracture, Stress Fracture, Capillary Fracture, Hairline Fracture, Incomplete Fracture, Impacted Fracture, Closed Fracture, Simple Fracture
Derivative terms: Fracture, Fracture, Fracture, Fracture
16. Verb. Scatter or part. "The clouds broke after the heavy downpour"
17. Noun. The occurrence of breaking. "The break in the dam threatened the valley"
18. Verb. Force out or release suddenly and often violently something pent up. "Erupt in anger"
19. Noun. An abrupt change in the tone or register of the voice (as at puberty or due to emotion). "Then there was a break in her voice"
20. Verb. Prevent completion. "Break off the negotiations"
Specialized synonyms: Fracture, Bog, Bog Down, Break Up, Cut Off, Disrupt, Interrupt
Generic synonyms: End, Terminate
Derivative terms: Discontinuation, Stop
21. Verb. Enter someone's (virtual or real) property in an unauthorized manner, usually with the intent to steal or commit a violent act. "Who broke into my account last night?"
Specialized synonyms: Crack
Generic synonyms: Intrude, Trespass
Derivative terms: Break-in
22. Noun. The opening shot that scatters the balls in billiards or pool.
23. Noun. (tennis) a score consisting of winning a game when your opponent was serving. "He was up two breaks in the second set"
24. Verb. Make submissive, obedient, or useful. "I broke in the new intern"
25. Noun. An act of delaying or interrupting the continuity. "There was a gap in his account"
Specialized synonyms: Cut-in, Insert, Cut-in, Insert, Interjection, Interpellation, Interpolation, Interposition, Abruption, Breaking Off, Barracking, Heckling
Generic synonyms: Delay, Holdup
Derivative terms: Disrupt, Disrupt, Interrupt, Interrupt
26. Verb. Fail to agree with; be in violation of; as of rules or patterns. "This sentence violates the rules of syntax"
Specialized synonyms: Fly In The Face Of, Fly In The Teeth Of
Antonyms: Conform To
Derivative terms: Violable, Violation, Violative
27. Noun. A sudden dash. "He made a break for the open door"
28. Verb. Surpass in excellence. "Break a record"
Generic synonyms: Exceed, Outdo, Outgo, Outmatch, Outperform, Outstrip, Surmount, Surpass
Derivative terms: Better
29. Noun. Any frame in which a bowler fails to make a strike or spare. "The break in the eighth frame cost him the match"
30. Verb. Make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret. "They break that there was a traffic accident "; "Unwrap the evidence in the murder case"
Specialized synonyms: Blackwash, Muckrake, Blow, Out, Come Out, Come Out Of The Closet, Out, Spring, Betray, Bewray, Confide, Leak, Babble, Babble Out, Blab, Blab Out, Let The Cat Out Of The Bag, Peach, Sing, Spill The Beans, Talk, Tattle, Reveal
Causes: Get Around, Get Out
Related verbs: Get Around, Get Out
Generic synonyms: Tell
Derivative terms: Disclosure, Discovery, Divulgement, Divulgence, Expose, Exposure, Giveaway, Revealing, Revelation
31. Noun. An escape from jail. "The breakout was carefully planned"
Generic synonyms: Escape, Flight
Derivative terms: Break Out
32. Verb. Come into being. "Voices broke in the air"
33. Verb. Stop operating or functioning. "These cars won't break "; "Her eyesight went after the accident"
Generic synonyms: Change
Related verbs: Buy The Farm, Cash In One's Chips, Choke, Conk, Croak, Decease, Die, Drop Dead, Exit, Expire, Give-up The Ghost, Go, Kick The Bucket, Pass, Pass Away, Perish, Pop Off, Snuff It
Specialized synonyms: Crash, Go Down, Blow, Blow Out, Burn Out, Misfire, Malfunction, Misfunction
Derivative terms: Breakable, Breakdown, Failure
34. Verb. Interrupt a continued activity. "She had broken with the traditional patterns"
35. Verb. Make a rupture in the ranks of the enemy or one's own by quitting or fleeing. "The ranks broke"
Related verbs: Break Away, Break Out
Generic synonyms: Flee, Fly, Take Flight
36. Verb. Curl over and fall apart in surf or foam, of waves. "The surf broke"
37. Verb. Lessen in force or effect. "Break a fall"
Generic synonyms: Blunt, Deaden
Specialized synonyms: Deafen, Damp, Dampen, Deaden
Derivative terms: Damper, Weakener
38. Verb. Be broken in. "If the new teacher won't break, we'll add some stress"
39. Verb. Come to an end. "The heat wave finally broke yesterday"
40. Verb. Vary or interrupt a uniformity or continuity. "The flat plain was broken by tall mesas"
41. Verb. Cause to give up a habit. "She finally broke herself of smoking cigarettes"
42. Verb. Give up. "Break cigarette smoking"
43. Verb. Come forth or begin from a state of latency. "The first winter storm broke over New York"
44. Verb. Happen or take place. "Things have been breaking pretty well for us in the past few months"
Generic synonyms: Come About, Fall Out, Go On, Hap, Happen, Occur, Pass, Pass Off, Take Place
45. Verb. Cause the failure or ruin of. "This play will either make or break the playwright"
46. Verb. Invalidate by judicial action. "The will was broken"
47. Verb. Discontinue an association or relation; go different ways. "My friend and I split up"
Specialized synonyms: Give The Axe, Give The Bounce, Give The Gate, Break Apart, Disunify, Disassociate, Disjoint, Dissociate, Disunite, Divorce, Break With, Divorce, Split Up, Break Away, Secede, Splinter, Break Away
Derivative terms: Breakup, Breakup, Separation, Separatist, Split
48. Verb. Assign to a lower position; reduce in rank. "He was broken down to Sergeant"
Generic synonyms: Assign, Delegate, Depute, Designate
Specialized synonyms: Sideline, Reduce
Also: Bump Off
Derivative terms: Demotion, Relegation
Antonyms: Promote
49. Verb. Reduce to bankruptcy. "The slump in the financial markets smashed him"
50. Verb. Change directions suddenly.
51. Verb. Emerge from the surface of a body of water. "The whales broke"
52. Verb. Break down, literally or metaphorically. "The business is going to break "; "The roof finally gave under the weight of the ice"
Generic synonyms: Change
Specialized synonyms: Go Off, Implode, Buckle, Crumple, Flop, Sink, Slide Down, Slump
Related verbs: Abandon, Give Up, Burst, Collapse
Derivative terms: Cave In, Collapse, Collapse
53. Verb. Do a break dance. "Sam and Sue break"; "Kids were break-dancing at the street corner"
Generic synonyms: Dance, Trip The Light Fantastic, Trip The Light Fantastic Toe
Derivative terms: Break Dance
54. Verb. Exchange for smaller units of money. "I had to break a $100 bill just to buy the candy"
55. Verb. Destroy the completeness of a set of related items. "The book dealer would not break the set"
56. Verb. Make the opening shot that scatters the balls.
57. Verb. Separate from a clinch, in boxing. "The referee broke the boxers"
58. Verb. Go to pieces. "The old chair finally fell apart completely"
Generic synonyms: Crumble, Decay, Dilapidate
Specialized synonyms: Fray, Frazzle
Related verbs: Bust
Also: Break Apart, Break Away, Break Off, Break Up, Wear Away, Wear Away, Wear Off
Derivative terms: Breakable, Wear
59. Verb. Break a piece from a whole. "Break a branch from a tree"
Generic synonyms: Detach
Derivative terms: Breakable, Breakage, Breaker
60. Verb. Become punctured or penetrated. "The skin broke"
61. Verb. Pierce or penetrate. "The blade broke her skin"
62. Verb. Be released or become known; of news. "News of her death broke in the morning"
Related verbs: Bring Out, Disclose, Discover, Divulge, Expose, Give Away, Let On, Let Out, Reveal, Unwrap
Specialized synonyms: Leak, Leak Out
63. Verb. Cease an action temporarily. "Let's break for lunch"
Generic synonyms: Break Up, Cut Off, Disrupt, Interrupt
Specialized synonyms: Breathe, Catch One's Breath, Rest, Take A Breather, Take Five, Take Ten
Derivative terms: Intermission, Pause, Pause
64. Verb. Interrupt the flow of current in. "Break a circuit"
65. Verb. Undergo breaking. "The simple vowels broke in many Germanic languages"
66. Verb. Find a flaw in. "Break down a proof"
67. Verb. Find the solution or key to. "Break the code"
68. Verb. Change suddenly from one tone quality or register to another. "Her voice broke to a whisper when she started to talk about her children"
69. Verb. Happen. "These political movements recrudesce from time to time"
Generic synonyms: Come About, Fall Out, Go On, Hap, Happen, Occur, Pass, Pass Off, Take Place
Related verbs: Develop
Also: Break Out, Break Through
Derivative terms: Development, Recrudescence
70. Verb. Become fractured; break or crack on the surface only. "These glasses break easily"; "The glass cracked when it was heated"
Generic synonyms: Change
Related verbs: Check, Chink, Crack
Specialized synonyms: Crack
Derivative terms: Breakable, Check
71. Verb. Crack; of the male voice in puberty. "His voice is breaking--he should no longer sing in the choir"
72. Verb. Fall sharply. "The stock market is going to break "; "Stock prices broke"
73. Verb. Fracture a bone of. "Did he break his foot? "; "I broke my foot while playing hockey"
Generic synonyms: Injure, Wound
Related verbs: Fracture
Derivative terms: Fracture, Fracture
74. Verb. Diminish or discontinue abruptly. "The patient's fever broke last night"
75. Verb. Weaken or destroy in spirit or body. "A man broken by the terrible experience of near-death"
Definition of Break
1. v. t. To strain apart; to sever by fracture; to divide with violence; as, to break a rope or chain; to break a seal; to break an axle; to break rocks or coal; to break a lock.
2. v. i. To come apart or divide into two or more pieces, usually with suddenness and violence; to part; to burst asunder.
3. n. An opening made by fracture or disruption.
Definition of Break
1. Verb. (ergative) To separate into two or more pieces, to fracture or crack, by a process that cannot easily be reversed for reassembly. ¹
2. Verb. (transitive US) To divide (something, often money) into smaller units. ¹
3. Verb. (transitive) To cause (a person) to lose his or her spirit or will; to crush the spirits of; to ruin (a person) emotionally. ¹
4. Verb. To cause an animal to lose its will, to tame. ¹
5. Verb. To cause (a habit) to no longer exist. ¹
6. Verb. To ruin financially. ¹
7. Verb. (transitive) To do that which is forbidden by (a rule, promise, etc.). ¹
8. Verb. (intransitive of a fever) To pass the most dangerous part of the illness; to go down, temperaturewise. ¹
9. Verb. (transitive gaming slang) To design or use a powerful (yet legal) strategy that unbalances the game in a player's favor. ¹
10. Verb. (ergative) To stop, or to cause to stop, functioning properly or altogether. ¹
11. Verb. (transitive) To cause (a barrier) to no longer bar. ¹
12. Verb. (intransitive of a wave of water) To collapse into surf, after arriving in shallow water. A wave '''breaking'''. ¹
13. Verb. (intransitive of a storm or spell of weather) To end. ¹
14. Verb. (intransitive) To interrupt or cease one's work or occupation temporarily. ¹
15. Verb. (transitive) To interrupt (a fall) by inserting something so that the falling object not hit something else beneath. ¹
16. Verb. (transitive ergative) To disclose or make known an item of news, etc. ¹
17. Verb. (intransitive of morning) To arrive. ¹
18. Verb. (intransitive of a sound) To become audible suddenly. ¹
19. Verb. (transitive) To change a steady state abruptly. ¹
20. Verb. (copulative informal) To suddenly become. ¹
21. Verb. (intransitive) Of a voice, to alter in type: in men generally to go up, in women sometimes to go down; to crack. ¹
22. Verb. (transitive) To surpass or do better than (a specific number), to do better than (a record), setting a new record. ¹
23. Verb. (sports and games): ¹
24. Verb. (transitive military most often in the passive tense) To demote, to reduce the military rank of. ¹
25. Verb. (transitive) To end (a connection), to disconnect. ¹
26. Verb. (intransitive of an emulsion) To demulsify. ¹
27. Verb. (intransitive sports) To counter-attack ¹
28. Noun. An instance of breaking something into two pieces. ¹
29. Noun. A physical space that opens up in something or between two things. ¹
30. Noun. (music) A short section of music, often between verses, in which some performers stop while others continue. ¹
31. Noun. A rest or pause, usually from work; a breaktime. ¹
32. Noun. A temporary split (with a romantic partner). ¹
33. Noun. An interval or intermission between two parts of a performance, for example a theatre show, broadcast, or sports game. ¹
34. Noun. A significant change in circumstance, attitude, perception, or focus of attention: big break, lucky break, bad break. ¹
35. Noun. (British weather) a change; the end of a spell of persistent good or bad weather ¹
36. Noun. The beginning (of the morning). ¹
37. Noun. An act of escaping. ¹
38. Noun. (surfing) A place where waves break (that is, where waves pitch or spill forward creating white water). ¹
39. Noun. (sports and games): ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Definition of Break
1. to reduce to fragments [v BROKE, BROKEN, BREAKING, BREAKS]
Medical Definition of Break
1. 1. To strain apart; to sever by fracture; to divide with violence; as, to break a rope or chain; to break a seal; to break an axle; to break rocks or coal; to break a lock. 2. To lay open as by breaking; to divide; as, to break a package of goods. 3. To lay open, as a purpose; to disclose, divulge, or communicate. "Katharine, break thy mind to me." (Shak) 4. To infringe or violate, as an obligation, law, or promise. " Out, out, hyena! these are thy wonted arts . . . To break all faith, all vows, deceive, betray." (Milton) 5. To interrupt; to destroy the continuity of; to dissolve or terminate; as, to break silence; to break one's sleep; to break one's journey. "Go, release them, Ariel;" "My charms I'll break, their senses I'll restore." (Shak) 6. To destroy the completeness of; to remove a part from; as, to break a set. 7. To destroy the arrangement of; to throw into disorder; to pierce; as, the cavalry were not able to break the British squares. 8. To shatter to pieces; to reduce to fragments. "The victim broke in pieces the musical instruments with which he had solaced the hours of captivity." (Pr