Break - Definition

n 1: some abrupt occurrence that interrupts an ongoing activity;
"the telephone is an annoying interruption"; "there was a
break in the action when a player was hurt" [syn:
interruption, break]
2: an unexpected piece of good luck; "he finally got his big
break" [syn: break, good luck, happy chance]
3: (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"; "he studied the
faulting of the earth's crust" [syn: fault, faulting,
geological fault, shift, fracture, break]
4: a personal or social separation (as between opposing
factions); "they hoped to avoid a break in relations" [syn:
rupture, breach, break, severance, rift, falling
out]
5: a pause from doing something (as work); "we took a 10-minute
break"; "he took time out to recuperate" [syn: respite,
recess, break, time out]
6: the act of breaking something; "the breakage was unavoidable"
[syn: breakage, break, breaking]
7: a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation
of something [syn: pause, intermission, break,
interruption, suspension]
8: breaking of hard tissue such as bone; "it was a nasty
fracture"; "the break seems to have been caused by a fall"
[syn: fracture, break]
9: the occurrence of breaking; "the break in the dam threatened
the valley"
10: 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"
11: the opening shot that scatters the balls in billiards or
pool
12: (tennis) a score consisting of winning a game when your
opponent was serving; "he was up two breaks in the second
set" [syn: break, break of serve]
13: an act of delaying or interrupting the continuity; "it was
presented without commercial breaks"; "there was a gap in
his account" [syn: break, interruption, disruption,
gap]
14: a sudden dash; "he made a break for the open door"
15: any frame in which a bowler fails to make a strike or spare;
"the break in the eighth frame cost him the match" [syn:
open frame, break]
16: an escape from jail; "the breakout was carefully planned"
[syn: break, breakout, jailbreak, gaolbreak,
prisonbreak, prison-breaking]
v 1: terminate; "She interrupted her pregnancy"; "break a lucky
streak"; "break the cycle of poverty" [syn: interrupt,
break]
2: become separated into pieces or fragments; "The figurine
broke"; "The freshly baked loaf fell apart" [syn: break,
separate, split up, fall apart, come apart]
3: render inoperable or ineffective; "You broke the alarm clock
when you took it apart!"
4: ruin completely; "He busted my radio!" [syn: break, bust]
[ant: bushel, doctor, fix, furbish up, mend,
repair, restore, touch on]
5: destroy the integrity of; usually by force; cause to separate
into pieces or fragments; "He broke the glass plate"; "She
broke the match"
6: act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises;
"offend all laws of humanity"; "violate the basic laws or
human civilization"; "break a law"; "break a promise" [syn:
transgress, offend, infract, violate, go against,
breach, break] [ant: keep, observe]
7: move away or escape suddenly; "The horses broke from the
stable"; "Three inmates broke jail"; "Nobody can break out--
this prison is high security" [syn: break, break out,
break away]
8: scatter or part; "The clouds broke after the heavy downpour"
9: force out or release suddenly and often violently something
pent up; "break into tears"; "erupt in anger" [syn: break,
burst, erupt]
10: prevent completion; "stop the project"; "break off the
negotiations" [syn: break, break off, discontinue,
stop]
11: enter someone's (virtual or real) 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!";
"who broke into my account last night?" [syn: break in,
break]
12: make submissive, obedient, or useful; "The horse was tough
to break"; "I broke in the new intern" [syn: break in,
break]
13: fail to agree with; be in violation of; as of rules or
patterns; "This sentence violates the rules of syntax" [syn:
violate, go against, break] [ant: conform to]
14: surpass in excellence; "She bettered her own record"; "break
a record" [syn: better, break]
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"; "unwrap the evidence in the murder case" [syn:
unwrap, disclose, let on, bring out, reveal,
discover, expose, divulge, break, give away, let
out]
16: come into being; "light broke over the horizon"; "Voices
broke in the air"
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" [syn: fail, go bad, give way, die,
give out, conk out, go, break, break down]
18: interrupt a continued activity; "She had broken with the
traditional patterns" [syn: break, break away]
19: make a rupture in the ranks of the enemy or one's own by
quitting or fleeing; "The ranks broke"
20: curl over and fall apart in surf or foam, of waves; "The
surf broke"
21: lessen in force or effect; "soften a shock"; "break a fall"
[syn: dampen, damp, soften, weaken, break]
22: be broken in; "If the new teacher won't break, we'll add
some stress"
23: come to an end; "The heat wave finally broke yesterday"
24: vary or interrupt a uniformity or continuity; "The flat
plain was broken by tall mesas"
25: cause to give up a habit; "She finally broke herself of
smoking cigarettes"
26: give up; "break cigarette smoking"
27: come forth or begin from a state of latency; "The first
winter storm broke over New York"
28: happen or take place; "Things have been breaking pretty well
for us in the past few months"
29: cause the failure or ruin of; "His peccadilloes finally
broke his marriage"; "This play will either make or break
the playwright" [ant: make]
30: invalidate by judicial action; "The will was broken"
31: 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" [syn: separate, part, split up, split,
break, break up]
32: assign to a lower position; reduce in rank; "She was demoted
because she always speaks up"; "He was broken down to
Sergeant" [syn: demote, bump, relegate, break, kick
downstairs] [ant: advance, elevate, kick upstairs,
promote, raise, upgrade]
33: reduce to bankruptcy; "My daughter's fancy wedding is going
to break me!"; "The slump in the financial markets smashed
him" [syn: bankrupt, ruin, break, smash]
34: change directions suddenly
35: emerge from the surface of a body of water; "The whales
broke"
36: 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" [syn: collapse, fall in,
cave in, give, give way, break, founder]
37: do a break dance; "Kids were break-dancing at the street
corner" [syn: break dance, break-dance, break]
38: exchange for smaller units of money; "I had to break a $100
bill just to buy the candy"
39: destroy the completeness of a set of related items; "The
book dealer would not break the set" [syn: break, break
up]
40: make the opening shot that scatters the balls
41: separate from a clinch, in boxing; "The referee broke the
boxers"
42: go to pieces; "The lawn mower finally broke"; "The gears
wore out"; "The old chair finally fell apart completely"
[syn: break, wear, wear out, bust, fall apart]
43: break a piece from a whole; "break a branch from a tree"
[syn: break, break off, snap off]
44: become punctured or penetrated; "The skin broke"
45: pierce or penetrate; "The blade broke her skin"
46: be released or become known; of news; "News of her death
broke in the morning" [syn: break, get out, get
around]
47: cease an action temporarily; "We pause for station
identification"; "let's break for lunch" [syn: pause,
intermit, break]
48: interrupt the flow of current in; "break a circuit"
49: undergo breaking; "The simple vowels broke in many Germanic
languages"
50: find a flaw in; "break an alibi"; "break down a proof"
51: find the solution or key to; "break the code"
52: change suddenly from one tone quality or register to
another; "Her voice broke to a whisper when she started to
talk about her children"
53: happen; "Report the news as it develops"; "These political
movements recrudesce from time to time" [syn: break,
recrudesce, develop]
54: become fractured; break or crack on the surface only; "The
glass cracked when it was heated" [syn: crack, check,
break]
55: crack; of the male voice in puberty; "his voice is breaking
--he should no longer sing in the choir"
56: fall sharply; "stock prices broke"
57: fracture a bone of; "I broke my foot while playing hockey"
[syn: fracture, break]
58: diminish or discontinue abruptly; "The patient's fever broke
last night"
59: weaken or destroy in spirit or body; "His resistance was
broken"; "a man broken by the terrible experience of near-
death"