break

Less common meanings

18. 18
    nouncolloquialcountable

    A stroke of good luck or an opening that lets someone get ahead, especially in a career.

    The band got its first real break when a popular DJ played their song on the radio.

    Young reporters wait years for the kind of breaks she got in her first month.

    UsageCommon phrases include a lucky break, a big break, and catch a break. Give me a break! often expresses annoyance or disbelief.

    Similarchance, opportunity, opening

19. 19
    nouncountable

    A cut in the amount someone must pay, such as a tax or a price, granted as a concession or advantage.

    The new law gives small businesses a tax break for hiring veterans.

    Our landlord offered us a break on the rent if we signed a two-year lease.

    UsageUsually a tax break, or a break on the price or the rent.

    Similardiscount, reduction

20. 20
    nouncountable

    A temporary split between romantic partners, often with the possibility of reuniting later.

    She suggested a break to give them both space to think things over.

    The couple's break lasted only a month before they reconciled.

    UsageUsually take a break or be on a break; a final end is a breakup.

    Similarseparation

    Oppositereconciliation

21. 21
    nouncountable

    An instance of something separating into two or more pieces.

    X-rays showed a clean break just above the wrist.

    The sudden break in the cable stopped the elevator.

    UsageFor a bone, a common phrase is a clean break.

    Similarsplit

    Note

    The noun's most familiar pairing is clean break: a bone fractured in a single line rather than shattered into fragments. The phrase travels beyond medicine and keeps its image of nothing left jagged, as in a clean break with the past. It can even describe an escape, a clean break from prison.

22. 22
    verbintransitive

    To stop one's work or occupation temporarily in order to rest.

    The crew breaks at noon every day.

    We usually break for coffee around three.

    UsageUsually break for something: break for lunch, break for the night.

    Similarpause, rest, stop, recess

    Oppositeresume

23. 23
    nouncountable

    A gap where something solid or continuous opens up, or a space that appears between two things.

    Hikers spotted the trail through a break in the dense forest.

    A break in the traffic let the pedestrians cross.

    UsageUsually a break in something: a break in the clouds, a break in the traffic.

    Similargap, opening, hole, space, breach

24. 24
    nouncountable

    In computing, the division that separates one line, paragraph or page of a text from the next.

    Adding a break before each chapter heading makes every chapter start at the top of a page.

    The file had stray breaks scattered through it, leaving half-empty pages in the printout.

    Note

    In a word processor the break is usually an invisible mark, named for what it starts: a line break begins a new line inside the same paragraph, a page break sends everything after it to the top of a new page, and a section break lets the layout change. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • Breaks in a word processor are normally hidden formatting marks. support.microsoft.com
    • A line break starts a new line without starting a new paragraph. help.libreoffice.org
    • A page break moves the following content to the top of the next page. support.microsoft.com
    • A section break allows changes to layout or formatting. support.microsoft.com
25. 25
    verbintransitive

    Of the day, the dawn or the morning: to arrive.

    We set out on the trail just as dawn broke over the ridge.

    The fishermen sit on the dock with their coffee and wait for day to break.

    UsageOften as dawn broke or when day broke.

    Similardawn

    Note

    Shakespeare already writes "The day begins to break, and night is fled" in Henry VI, Part 1, and Morning has broken shows that the perfect tense sounds just as natural. The compound daybreak and the phrase the break of day keep the same picture of light cracking open the dark. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • The quoted line occurs in Shakespeare’s Henry VI, Part 1; Bedford speaks it in Act II, Scene II. shakespeare.mit.edu
    • “Morning has broken” is an attested lyric illustrating the present perfect. reedgallery.co.nz
    • Daybreak is a compound of day and break meaning the beginning of daylight. en.wiktionary.org
    • The phrase break of day denotes daybreak. en.wiktionary.org
26. 26
    verbintransitive

    Of a wave, to curl over and collapse into foam, especially on reaching shallow water near the shore.

    We sat on the dunes and watched the waves break along the sand.

    When a big swell arrives, the outer reef breaks all afternoon.

    UsageWaves break on the shore or against the rocks.

    Similarcrash

    Note

    Surfers turn the sentence around and make the place the subject: a reef breaks when swells rise and collapse over it, as in Bruce Brown's film The Endless Summer (1966). The same habit gives surfers break as a noun for a spot where waves form. In everyday talk the wave stays the subject. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • The Endless Summer is a 1966 film directed by Bruce Brown. en.wikipedia.org
    • The film illustrates the use of a surfing location as the subject of break. en.wiktionary.org
27. 27
    cushionverbtransitive

    To interrupt a fall by placing something in the way so that the falling object does not immediately hit what lies beneath.

    A pile of straw broke the stuntman's fall.

    She grabbed the railing to break her fall down the stairs.

    UsageMostly in break someone's fall: the bushes broke her fall.

    Similarcushion, soften, check

28. 28
    verbtransitive

    To pull away, or try to, and make a run for a place.

    When the guard looked away, the prisoners broke for the trees.

    Deer will break for cover at the first bark of a dog.

    UsageUsually with for and a place: break for cover, break for the door.

    Similardash, bolt, run

    Note

    What it adds to plain running is the moment of tearing loose from a fight, a formation or a guard. The noun keeps the same picture in an escape, as in make a break for it.

29. 29
    nouncountable

    An act of escaping or getting away, often made suddenly.

    The convict's break from the maximum-security wing stunned the guards.

    When the guards changed shifts at midnight, two prisoners made a break for the gate.

    UsageSet phrases: make a break for it (or for the door), and the compound prison break.

    Similarescape, getaway, flight, dash, bolt

    Note

    A clean break is an escape that succeeds without a hitch. The phrase also describes a clean fracture and the complete end of a relationship, so context shows which is meant.

30. 30
    come to an endverbintransitive

    Of a settled spell of weather, a fever, or a similar lasting condition, to come to an end, often suddenly.

    The fever broke during the night.

    Long dry spells eventually break when the rains arrive.

    UsageCommon in the fever broke and the weather broke; a pause in bad weather is a break in the weather.

    Similarend, lift, subside, abate

    Note

    Weather talk has its own use. What breaks is a settled spell, and the verb marks the moment it gives way, as in the forecast says the hot weather will break by midweek. Changeable weather does not break; only weather that has held for a while does. The noun follows suit, as in a break in the weather.

31. 31
    nouncountable

    In snooker, the total points a player scores in a single visit to the table.

    His highest break of the tournament was 112.

    A missed pink ended her break at 46, and her opponent stepped in to clear the table.

    Note

    Snooker keeps score in breaks: a player's visit to the table lasts as long as the pots keep coming, and the break is the running total, ended by a miss or a foul. Commentators quote a player's highest break of a tournament. Do not confuse it with the opening shot, which pool and billiards also call the break; in snooker talk, a big break always means points. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • A break is the total points scored through consecutive pots during one visit. en.wikipedia.org
    • A break can also end through a foul or the completion of the frame. wpbsa.com
32. 32
    verbtransitive

    To open a safe or strongbox without the correct key, combination, or code.

    Skilled crooks can break a safe without leaving a scratch.

    Without the combination, the gang needed nearly two hours to break the jeweler's safe.

    Similarcrack, force

33. 33
    deepen (voice)verbintransitive

    Of the voice, to become deeper as a boy reaches puberty.

    Most boys' voices break somewhere between twelve and fourteen.

    He was the star soprano in the church choir until his voice broke the summer he turned thirteen.

    UsageThe voice is the subject: his voice broke at thirteen.

    Similardeepen, crack

    Note

    It describes a male voice deepening at puberty. Keep it apart from a voice cracking under strain, where the change comes from emotion and can happen to men and women alike. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • A boy's voice deepens at puberty. healthdirect.gov.au
    • Emotion can cause a voice to crack in both men and women. en.wiktionary.org
34. 34
    verbintransitive

    Of a voice, to crack or change in quality under emotion or strain, generally rising in men and sometimes falling in women.

    His voice broke as he thanked the nurses who had cared for his wife.

    Singers who push too hard on the top notes can feel their voices break mid-phrase.

    Similarcrack, falter, waver

    Note

    This break lasts a moment, under feeling or strain, and that is what separates it from the deepening at puberty: "his voice broke as he thanked the nurses" is feeling; "his voice broke at thirteen" is growing up. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • An individual voice crack is momentary. askdruniverse.wsu.edu
    • A voice can break under emotion or strain. en.wiktionary.org
    • Pubertal voice deepening is a lasting developmental change, distinguishing it from a momentary emotional crack. hillingdoncyp.cnwl.nhs.uk
35. 35
    verbtransitive

    In tennis, to win a game as the receiver, against an opponent who is serving.

    The young qualifier broke the top seed twice in the second set.

    Neither player managed to break serve in a tense opening set.

    Oppositehold

    Note

    Tennis lets the verb take either object: a player breaks serve, or breaks the opponent who is serving, as when Lukas Rosol broke Nadal at Wimbledon in 2012. Winning your own service game instead is holding serve. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • Lukas Rosol broke Rafael Nadal's serve at Wimbledon in 2012. tennis.com
36. 36
    nouncountable

    In tennis, a game won by the side receiving serve rather than by the server.

    She got the break in the seventh game and then served out the set.

    Both players served superbly, and the only break of the match came late in the final set.

    Note

    Holding one's own serve is the normal run of play, so a single break can decide a set. Players speak of a break of serve, of being a break up or a break down, and of breaking back to level the score. A point that would hand the receiver the game is a break point. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • The server normally has an advantage. wtatennis.com
    • A single break can decide a set. nittoatpfinals.com
    • A break point is a point on which the receiver can win the game. itftennis.com
37. 37
    verbtransitive

    To train a young or untamed animal, especially a horse, to accept a rider or harness or to do other work.

    It took the rancher most of the summer to break the young mustang.

    On the old farm, oxen were broken to the yoke while they were still calves.

    Similartame, train

    Note

    Ranchers and farmers break a colt, or break oxen to the yoke: the to phrase names the work the animal is being taught. The word can suggest crushing a creature's will, which is why the Colonel's boast in Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002), "Any horse can be broken", sounds like a threat as much as a training claim. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron is a 2002 film. dreamworks.com
    • The Colonel says "Any horse can be broken", using "can", not "could". en.wikiquote.org
38. 38
    verbslangtransitive

    To make a game too easy, by changing its rules or by exploiting gaps or flaws in them, so that one player gets an unfair edge.

    One overpowered card in the new expansion completely broke the game.

    If players can stack that bonus forever, it will break the whole ranked mode.

    Oppositebalance

    Note

    Gamers' slang with a twist: unlike the stop-working meaning, a broken game still runs perfectly well; it just stops being a contest. The culprit may be a rule change, a card or character far too strong, or a loophole a player exploits. Players also turn the participle into a verdict on the culprit itself, so an unbeatable combination is simply called broken.

39. 39
    verbintransitive

    In billiards, pool or snooker, to take the opening shot, scattering the balls from their neat starting arrangement.

    Whoever wins the coin toss gets to break.

    She broke so hard that two balls dropped into the corner pockets.

    Note

    The opening shot is named for what it does to the rack: the neat arrangement of balls is broken apart and scattered. The verb usually stands alone, without an object, so players ask whose turn it is to break rather than what to break, and they say a player broke hard or broke well. The shot itself is the noun break. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • The starting arrangement depends on the game: eight-ball uses a triangle, but nine-ball uses a diamond. rules.poolplayers.com
    • The opening shot breaks apart and scatters the starting arrangement. wpapool.com
40. 40
    nouncountable

    The opening shot in a game of billiards, pool or snooker.

    She sank three balls on the break and never gave her opponent a shot.

    A clean break spreads the balls across the table and leaves plenty of options.

    Note

    Players describe what happens on the opening shot with on: a ball sunk on the break, nothing dropped on the break. The same tables also use the word for a player's scoring run, so the talk around it tells you which is meant.

41. 41
    nouncountable

    In soccer, a counterattack by a team that has just won the ball back.

    The visitors sat deep all game and snatched the winner on the break.

    With so many players pushed forward, the home side was always exposed to the break.

    Similarcounterattack, counter

    Note

    Soccer commentary usually uses it in the phrase on the break: a side that scores on the break wins the ball and attacks at once, before opponents can get back into position. Teams that leave players forward, even while under pressure, are dangerous this way, and a side that commits too many players to attack is said to be exposed to the break. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • Leaving players forward while defending can create counterattacking opportunities. en.wikipedia.org
    • Committing too many players to attack can leave a team vulnerable to counterattacks. en.wikipedia.org
42. 42
    nouncountable

    A brief passage of music, often between verses, where some of the musicians drop out while the rest keep playing.

    The banjo break after the second verse drew the biggest cheer of the night.

    During the breaks, the guitars drop out and only the drums keep the groove going.

    Similarsolo

    Note

    The instrument named in front is the one that takes over: in a fiddle or banjo break, the fiddle or banjo comes forward while the singer stops, and how much of the band keeps playing depends on the style. Ivan T. Sanderson, in Animal Treasure (1937), still sets "breaks" in quotation marks when he describes whole banks of bass drums dropping out precisely on the beat. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • Ivan T. Sanderson wrote Animal Treasure. openlibrary.org
    • Animal Treasure was first published in 1937. rarebookcellar.com
    • Sanderson puts “breaks” in quotation marks and describes entire groups of bass drums ceasing exactly on the beat; the passage is cited on page 233. en.wiktionary.org
43. 43
    verbtransitive

    To figure out what a code, cipher, or encrypted message says, or to solve a criminal case.

    Mathematicians on the team spent months trying to break the new cipher.

    A single fingerprint on the window helped detectives break the case.

    UsageCommon objects: break a code, break a cipher, break a case. Crack is used the same way.

    Similarcrack, solve, decipher, decode

44. 44
    verbintransitive

    Of a storm, to start, or else to pass and come to an end.

    Hikers were told to get off the ridge before the storm could break.

    After three days of rain the storm finally broke, leaving a clear blue sky.

    Similarhit, start (entry), pass, end

    Note

    Context has to settle this one, because the storm broke can name opposite moments. Running for shelter before it breaks puts the break at the first downpour; a calm, sunny afternoon after it broke puts it at the clearing. The ending side has a noun to match in a break in the weather, when a long wet or dry spell finally gives way.

45. 45
    verbintransitive

    Of a sauce or other emulsion, to lose its blended state and separate into its component liquids.

    Whisk the butter in slowly, or the hollandaise may break and turn greasy.

    Left standing for a week, the emulsion broke and a clear layer of oil rose to the top.

    Similarseparate, split, curdle

    Oppositeemulsify

    Note

    Cooks and chemists share this verb but feel differently about it. In a kitchen a sauce that breaks has failed, its butter or oil sliding out into a greasy layer. In industry the break can be the whole point: a sprayed bitumen emulsion breaks the instant it hits a wall and sets there as a coating, up to a centimeter thick in one pass. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • A broken emulsified sauce is greasy and separated. ciachef.edu
    • Breaking an emulsion can leave its oil in a separate layer. aocs.org
    • An industrial bitumen emulsion can deliberately break instantly on a wall, forming a coating up to one centimeter thick in one spraying operation. en.wiktionary.org
46. 46
    verb

    To bring a stage production's run to a close.
47. 47
    verbobsolete

    To fail as a trader and become insolvent or bankrupt.

    ‘I knew he was in some such low way—He broke did not he?’

    1791, Jane Austen, ‘A Collection of Letters’
48. 48
    verb

    Of stock prices, to drop sharply all at once.
49. 49
    verb

    To make a part of a program stop working correctly, especially as a side effect of a later change.
50. 50
    verb

    Of a sound, to be heard all of a sudden.
51. 51
    verb

    To abruptly disrupt a calm or settled condition, such as silence.
52. 52
    verb

    In backgammon, to move away one of the two checkers holding a point, leaving it open.
53. 53
    verb

    To strip a soldier or officer of rank, moving them down a grade.
54. 54
    verb

    To end a connection or hold, separating things that were joined.
55. 55
    verb

    In sport, to switch quickly from defense to an attack on the opponent.
56. 56
    verbobsolete

    To reveal something, such as a plan or what one is thinking.

    Katharine, break thy mind to me.

    1599, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”
57. 57
    verb

    To decline in health or vigor of body or mind.
58. 58
    verb

    To weaken or destroy the firmness or strength of something.
59. 59
    verb

    To strip someone of their office or rank and dismiss them.
60. 60
    verbarchaic

    To end a friendship, typically after a quarrel.
61. 61
    verb

    To stop a running program before it has finished.
62. 62
    verb

    In debugging, to halt code midway so a developer can inspect variables and memory at that moment.
63. 63
    verb

    To start a new line of text at a given point, or to allow one there.
64. 64
    noun

    A steep plunge in market values over a short time.
65. 65
    noun

    The first light of day, when morning starts.
66. 66
    noun

    A key press or other signal that halts or pauses a running program.
67. 67
    noun

    Short for breakpoint, a marked place where a program pauses during debugging.
68. 68
    nounBritish

    A shift in the weather, especially when a long run of fine or bad conditions finally ends.
69. 69
    noun

    In golf, the sideways curve a putted ball takes because of the slope or grain of the green.
70. 70
    noun

    A spot where waves curl over and turn into white water, as sought out by surfers.
71. 71
    noun

    The moment horses leave the starting gate at the beginning of a race.
72. 72
    noun

    An event in which sealed packs of trading cards are opened, often live, with the contents shared among buyers who paid for a slot.
73. 73
    noundated

    A big horse-drawn carriage on four wheels with a straight body and folding hood, seating the driver up front and a footman at the back.
74. 74
    noun

    Another spelling of brake, a bodyless wagon frame used to train horses to pull.
75. 75
    noun

    A harsh, severe kind of bit placed in a horse's mouth.
76. 76
    noun

    The point in a woodwind's range where overblowing shifts it from the lower register to the upper one.
77. 77
    noun

    The point where a singer's voice shifts from one register to the next.
78. 78
    noun

    Rugged land along a river, cut by cliffs and ravines, usually used in the plural.
79. 79
    nounobsolete

    A blunder or social mistake.

    "Maybe he will some day," says the Missus, and then her and Bessie pretended like they'd made a break and was embarrassed.

    1916, Ring W. Lardner, “Three Kings and a Pair”
80. 80
    noun

    A drum passage from a record that a hip-hop DJ loops and stretches out for dancers.
81. 81
    verbslang

    To dance in the acrobatic street style of hip-hop, with spins and floor moves.