broke
- 1Past tense of break. Use it for the past.
She broke her phone when she dropped it on the floor.
The kids broke the window playing ball in the yard.
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- 2
- 3
- 4Lowered in rank by losing your position as an officer.
The broke lieutenant could no longer wear his old insignia.
Reduced to a broke officer, he lived on a meager pension.
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- 5To do business deals for someone else as a paid agent.
She agreed to broke for the small investors at no extra charge.
Agents who broke for clients earn a commission on each sale.
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- 6Scrap paper that is collected and turned back into pulp at the mill.
Like scraps of dough mixed back in to make a fresh loaf.
The mill feeds its broke back into the pulper to cut down on waste.
Operators sort wet broke from dry broke before recycling it.
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- 7
- 8Past participle of break. An old form used in poetry and older writing.
His pledge was broke before the year was out.
Many a heart was broke by her cold reply.
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- 9Damaged and no longer whole or working.
The broke gate hung loose on a single rusty hinge.
They mended the broke fence before the first snow.
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- 10A small piece that has broken off something larger.
She swept the brokes of the shattered pitcher into a tidy pile.
Why dost though linger, then, / To hear the flatteries of these men of rags? / These bankrupt beggar-men, / Whose riches are the broke meat in their bags?
1855, January Searle, PoemsHere, broke meat means broken pieces and leftover scraps of food.Note
- 11To find customers for someone who sells sex.
But we do want a certain necessary / Woman, to broke between them CUPID said;
1655, Luís de Camões, The LusiadHere, broke means to arrange love affairs for others, like a pimp.And brokes with all that can in such a suit / Corrupt the tender honour of a maid.
c. 1604, William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”Here, brokes means works as a go-between to arrange a love affair.Note
Showing meanings only.
broke is a form of break
break, verb: To make something crack or come apart into pieces, like a glass or a bone, or to crack this way. Full entry
- Spelling
- break → broke: irregular (no -ed)
Practice
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Origins
A changed form of the word "break."
From Old English "gebroc," meaning a fragment, from "brecan" (to break).
Made from the word "broker."
A shortened form of "broke off."