break

sense 1: end prematurely; "She interrupted her pregnancy"; "break a lucky streak"
interrupt break

sense 2: become separated into pieces or fragments; "The figurine broke"; "The freshly baked loaf fell apart"
break separate split_up fall_apart come_apart

sense 3: destroy the integrity of; usually by force; cause to separate into pieces or fragments; "He broke the glass plate"; "She broke the match"
break

sense 4: render inoperable or ineffective; "You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!"
break

sense 5: ruin completely; "He busted my radio!"
break bust

sense 6: act in disregard of laws and rules; "offend all laws of humanity"; "violate the basic laws or human civilization"; "break a law"
transgress offend infract violate go_against breach break

sense 7: move away or escape suddenly; "The horses broke from the stable"; "Three inmates broke jail"
break break_out break_away

sense 8: scatter or part; "The clouds broke after the heavy downpour"
break

sense 9: force out or release suddenly and often violently something pent up; "break into tears"; "erupt in anger"
break burst erupt

sense 10: prevent completion; "stop the project"; "break the silence"
break break_off discontinue stop

sense 11: 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_in break

sense 12: make submissive, obedient, or useful, as of wild animals or new items; also used metaphorically of people; "The horse was tough to break"; "I broke in the new intern"
break_in break

sense 13: 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!"
violate go_against break

sense 14: surpass in excellence; "She bettered her own record"; "break a record"
better break

sense 15: 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 out the truth"; "he broke the news to her"
disclose let_on bring_out reveal discover expose divulge impart break give_away let_out

sense 16: come into being; "light broke over the horizon"; "Voices broke in the air"
break

sense 17: 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"
fail go_bad give_way die give_out conk_out go break break_down

sense 18: interrupt a continued activity; "She had broken with the traditional patterns"
break break_away

sense 19: make a rupture in the ranks of the enemy or one's own by quitting or fleeing (military usage); "The ranks broke"
break

sense 20: curl over and fall apart in surf or foam, of waves; "The surf broke"
break

sense 21: lessen in force or effect; "soften a shock"; "break a fall"
dampen damp soften weaken break

sense 22: be broken in; "If the new teacher won't break, we'll add some stress"
break

sense 23: come to an end; "The heat wave finally broke yesterday"
break

sense 24: vary or interrupt a uniformity or continuity; "The flat plain was broken by sharply mesas"
break

sense 25: cause to give up a habit; "She finally broke herself of smoking cigarettes"
break

sense 26: give up; "break cigarette smoking"
break

sense 27: come forth or begin from a state of latency; "The first winter storm broke over New York"
break

sense 28: happen or take place; "Things have been breaking pretty well for us in the past few months" (informal)
break

sense 29: cause the failure or ruin of; "His peccadilloes finally broke his marriage"; "This play will either make or break the playwright"
break

sense 30: invalidate by judicial action; "The will was broken"
break

sense 31: stop or interrupt; "He broke the engagement"; "We had to break our plans for a trip to China"
break

sense 32: divide into pieces, as by bending or cutting; "break the loaf of bread"; "break the crackers"
break

sense 33: 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"
separate part split_up split break break_up

sense 34: assign to a lower position; reduce in rank; "She was demoted because she always speaks up"
demote bump relegate break kick_downstairs

sense 35: reduce to bankruptcy; "My daughter's fancy wedding is going to break me!"
bankrupt ruin break

sense 36: change directions suddenly
break

sense 37: emerge from the surface, as of fish in water; "The whales broke"
break

sense 38: 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"
collapse fall_in cave_in give give_way break founder

sense 39: do a break dance; "Kids were break-dancing at the street corner"
break_dance break-dance break

sense 40: exchange for smaller units of money; "I had to break a $100 bill just to buy the candy"
break

sense 41: destroy the completeness of a set of related items; "The book dealer would not break the set"
break break_up

sense 42: make the opening shot that scatters the balls, in billiards or pool
break

sense 43: separate from a clinch, in boxing; "The referee broke the boxers"
break

sense 44: go to pieces; "The lawn mower finally broke"; "The gears wore out"; "The old chair finally fell apart completely"
break wear wear_out bust fall_apart

sense 45: break a piece from a whole; "break a branch from a tree"
break break_off snap_off

sense 46: pierce the surface of; "The fish broke the water"
break

sense 47: become punctured or penetrated; "The skin broke"
break

sense 48: pierce or penetrate; "The blade broke her skin"
break

sense 49: be released or become known; of news; "News of her death broke in the morning"
break get_out get_around

sense 50: cease an action temporarily; "We pause for station identification"; "let's break for lunch"
pause intermit break

sense 51: interrupt the flow of current in; "break a circuit"
break

sense 52: undergo breaking; "The simple vowels broke in many Germanic languages"
break

sense 53: find a flaw in; "break an alibi"
break

sense 54: find the solution or key to; "break the code"
break

sense 55: change suddenly from one tone quality or register to another; "Her voice broke to a whisper when she started to talk about her children"
break

sense 56: stop and wait, as if awaiting further instructions or developments; "Hold on a moment!"; "We broke at noon"
break hold_on stop

sense 57: happen, as of an event; "Report the news as it develops"; "These political movements recrudesce from time to time"
break recrudesce develop

sense 58: become fractured; break or crack on the surface only; "The glass cracked when it was heated"
crack check break

sense 59: of the male voice in puberty; "his voice is breaking--he should no longer sing in the choir"
break

sense 60: fall sharply; "stock prices broke"
break

sense 61: fracture a bone of; "I broke my foot while playing hockey"
fracture break

sense 62: diminish or discontinue abruptly; "The patient's fever broke last night"
break

sense 63: weaken or destroy in spirit or body; "For a hero loves the world till it breaks him"--Yeats
break