Destroy in two or more pieces, which can't easily be reassembled.
To surpass in excellence.
To stop functioning properly or altogether.
To cause to stop functioning properly or altogether.
The breaking of hard tissue such as bone.
To hold back, as of a danger or an enemy; check the expansion or influence of.
To prevent completion (e.g. of a project, of negotiations, etc.).
To break a hard tissue such as a bone.
reduce to bankruptcy; "My daughter's fancy wedding is going to break me!"
surpass in excellence; "She bettered her own record"; "break a record"
a sudden dash; "he made a break for the open door"
the opening shot that scatters the balls in billiards or pool
the occurrence of breaking; "the break in the dam threatened the valley"
weaken or destroy in spirit or body; "For a hero loves the world till it breaks him"--Yeats
diminish or discontinue abruptly; "The patient's fever broke last night"
fall sharply; "stock prices broke"
be broken in; "If the new teacher won't break, we'll add some stress"
of the male voice in puberty; "his voice is breaking--he should no longer sing in the choir"
render inoperable or ineffective; "You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!"
destroy the integrity of; usually by force; cause to separate into pieces or fragments; "He broke the glass plate"; "She broke the match"
change suddenly from one tone quality or register to another; "Her voice broke to a whisper when she started to talk about her children"
come into being; "light broke over the horizon"; "Voices broke in the air"
find the solution or key to; "break the code"
find a flaw in: "break an alibi"
undergo breaking; "The simple vowels broke in many Germanic languages"
interrupt the flow of current in; "break a circuit"
pierce or penetrate; "The blade broke her skin"
become punctured or penetrated: "The skin broke"
pierce the surface of; "The fish broke the water"
separate from a clinch, in boxing; "The referee broke the boxers"
make the opening shot that scatters the balls, in billiards or pool
exchange for smaller units of money; "I had to break a $100 bill just to buy the candy"
curl over and fall apart in surf or foam, of waves; "The surf broke"
emerge from the surface, as of fish in water; "The whales broke"
scatter or part; "The clouds broke after the heavy downpour"
make a rupture in the ranks of the enemy or one's own by quitting or fleeing (military usage); "The ranks broke"
change directions suddenly
divide into pieces, as by bending or cutting; "break the loaf of bread"; "break the crackers"
stop or interrupt; "He broke the engagement"; "We had to break our plans for a trip to China"
invalidate by judicial action; "The will was broken"
cause the failure or ruin of; "His peccadilloes finally broke his marriage"; "This play will either make or break the playwright"
happen or take place; "Things have been breaking pretty well for us in the past few months" (informal)
come forth or begin from a state of latency; "The first winter storm broke over New York"
give up: "break cigarette smoking"
cause to give up a habit; "She finally broke herself of smoking cigarettes"
vary or interrupt a uniformity or continuity; "The flat plain was broken by sharply mesas"
come to an end; "The heat wave finally broke yesterday"
an escape from jail; "the breakout was carefully planned"
interrupt a continued activity; "She had broken with the traditional patterns"
prevent completion; "stop the project"; "break the silence"
break a piece from a whole; "break a branch from a tree"
(tennis) a score consisting of winning a game when your opponent was serving; "he was up two breaks in the second set"
move away or escape suddenly; "The horses broke from the stable"; "Three inmates broke jail"
destroy the completeness of a set of related items; "The book dealer would not break the set"
force out or release suddenly and often violently something pent up; "break into tears"; "erupt in anger"
ruin completely; "He busted my radio!"
happen, as of an event; "Report the news as it develops"
be released or become known; of news; "News of her death broke in the morning"
an unexpected piece of good luck; "he finally got his big break"
stop and wait, as if awaiting further instructions or developments; "Hold on a moment!"; "We broke at noon"
an act of delaying or interrupting the continuity; "it was presented without commercial breaks"
become separated into pieces or fragments; "The figurine broke"; "The freshly baked loaf fell apart"
go to pieces; "The lawn mower finally broke"; "The gears wore out"; "The old chair finally fell apart completely"
the act of breaking something; "the breakage was unavoidable"
do a break dance; "Kids were break-dancing at the street corner"
make submissive, obedient, or useful, as of wild animals or new items: "The horse was tough to break"; used metaphorically for people
enter someone's property in an unauthorized manner, usually with the intent to steal or commit a violent act; "Someone broke in while I was on vacation"; "They broke into my car and stole my radio!"
break down, literally or metaphorically; "The wall collapsed"; "The business collapsed"; "The dam broke"; "The roof collapsed"; "The wall gave in"; "The roof finally gave under the weight of the ice"
become fractured; break or crack on the surface only; "The glass cracked when it was heated"
lessen in force or effect; "soften a shock"; "break a fall"
assign to a lower position; reduce in rank; "She was demoted because she always speaks up"
make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret; "The aution house would not disclose the price at which the van Gogh had sold"; "The actress won't reveal how old she is"; "bring out the truth"; "he broke the news to her"
stop operating or functioning; "The engine finally went"; "The car died on the road"; "The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town"; "The coffe maker broke"; "The engine failed on the way to town"
(geology) a fracture in the earth's crust with displacement of one side with respect to the other; "they built it right on the San Andreas fault"
breaking of hard tissue such as bone; "it was a nasty fracture"; "the break seems to have been caused by a fall"
fracture a bone of: "I broke my foot while playing hockey"
end prematurely; "She interrupted her pregnancy"; "break a lucky streak"
some occurrence that interrupts; "the telephone is an annoying interruption"; "there was a break in the action when a player was hurt"
any frame in which a bowler fails to make a strike or spare; "the break in the eighth frame cost him the match"
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
cease an action temporarily; "We pause for station identification"; "let's break for lunch"
a pause from doing something (as work); "we took a 10-minute break"; "he took time out to recuperate"
a personal or social separation (as between opposing factions); "they hoped to avoid a break in relations"
discontinue an association or relation; go different ways; "The business partners broke over a tax question"; "The couple separated after 25 years of marriage"; "My friend and I split up"
act in disregard of laws and rules; "offend all laws of humanity"; "violate the basic laws or human civilization"; "break a law"
fail to agree with; be in violation of; as of rules or patterns; "He violated the agreement to stay away from his ex-wife"; "You are breaking the law!"
some abrupt occurrence that interrupts; "the telephone is an annoying interruption"; "there was a break in the action when a player was hurt"
(geology) a crack in the earth''s crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other; "they built it right over a geological fault"
weaken or destroy in spirit or body; "His resistance was broken"; "a man broken by the terrible experience of near-death"
diminish or discontinue abruptly; "The patient''s fever broke last night"
fracture a bone of; "I broke my foot while playing hockey"
make submissive, obedient, or useful; "The horse was tough to break"; "I broke in the new intern"
be broken in; "If the new teacher won''t break, we''ll add some stress"
happen; "Report the news as it develops"; "These political movements recrudesce from time to time"
prevent completion; "stop the project"; "break off the negociations"
terminate; "She interrupted her pregnancy"; "break a lucky streak"; "break the cycle of poverty"
stop operating or functioning; "The engine finally went"; "The car died on the road"; "The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town"; "The coffee maker broke"; "The engine failed on the way to town"; "her eyesight went after the accident"
find a flaw in; "break an alibi"; "break down a proof"
cease an action temporarily; "We pause for station identification"; "let''s break for lunch"
make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret; "The auction house would not disclose the price at which the van Gogh had sold"; "The actress won''t reveal how old she is"; "bring
become punctured or penetrated; "The skin broke"
make the opening shot that scatters the balls
emerge from the surface of a body of water; "The whales broke"
make a rupture in the ranks of the enemy or one''s own by quitting or fleeing; "The ranks broke"
move away or escape suddenly; "The horses broke from the stable"; "Three inmates broke jail"; "Nobody can break out--this prison is high security"
reduce to bankruptcy; "My daughter''s fancy wedding is going to break me!"; "The slump in the financial markets smashed him"
assign to a lower position; reduce in rank; "She was demoted because she always speaks up"; "He was broken down to Sargeant"
enter someone''s property in an unauthorized manner, usually with the intent to steal or commit a violent act; "Someone broke in while I was on vacation"; "They broke into my car and stole my radio!"
happen or take place; "Things have been breaking pretty well for us in the past few months"
fail to agree with; be in violation of; as of rules or patterns; "This sentence violates the rules of syntax"
give up; "break cigarette smoking"
vary or interrupt a uniformity or continuity; "The flat plain was broken by tall mesas"
an escape from jail
any frame in which a bowler fails to make a strike or spare
a sudden dash
the act of breaking something
an act of delaying or interrupting the continuity
(tennis) a score consisting of winning a game when your opponent was serving
a pause from doing something (as work)
an abrupt change in the tone or register of the voice (as at puberty or due to emotion)
a personal or social separation (as between opposing factions)
an unexpected piece of good luck
the occurrence of breaking
some abrupt occurrence that interrupts an ongoing activity
(geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other
breaking of hard tissue such as bone
weaken or destroy in spirit or body
diminish or discontinue abruptly
fracture a bone of
fall sharply
make submissive, obedient, or useful
be broken in
crack; of the male voice in puberty
render inoperable or ineffective
become separated into pieces or fragments
destroy the integrity of; usually by force; cause to separate into pieces or fragments
become fractured; break or crack on the surface only
happen
prevent completion
terminate
lessen in force or effect
stop operating or functioning
change suddenly from one tone quality or register to another
come into being
find the solution or key to
find a flaw in
undergo breaking
interrupt the flow of current in
cease an action temporarily
make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret
be released or become known; of news
surpass in excellence
pierce or penetrate
become punctured or penetrated
break a piece from a whole
go to pieces
ruin completely
separate from a clinch, in boxing
destroy the completeness of a set of related items
exchange for smaller units of money
force out or release suddenly and often violently something pent up
do a break dance
curl over and fall apart in surf or foam, of waves
break down, literally or metaphorically
emerge from the surface of a body of water
scatter or part
make a rupture in the ranks of the enemy or one's own by quitting or fleeing
move away or escape suddenly
reduce to bankruptcy
assign to a lower position; reduce in rank
discontinue an association or relation; go different ways
invalidate by judicial action
interrupt a continued activity
cause the failure or ruin of
act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises
enter someone's (virtual or real) property in an unauthorized manner, usually with the intent to steal or commit a violent act
happen or take place
come forth or begin from a state of latency
fail to agree with; be in violation of; as of rules or patterns
