English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
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From Middle English breken , from Old English brecan ( “ to break ” ) , from Proto-Germanic *brekaną ( “ to break ” ) , from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- ( “ to break ” ) . The word is a doublet of bray .
Cognates
Cognates of Germanic origin include Scots brek ( “ to break ” ) , West Frisian brekke ( “ to break ” ) , Dutch breken ( “ to break ” ) , Low German breken ( “ to break ” ) , German brechen ( “ to break ” ) , French broyer ( “ to crush, grind ” ) , Gothic 𐌱𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽 ( brikan , “ to break, destroy ” ) , Norwegian brek ( “ desire, yearning ” ) .
Also cognate with Albanian brishtë ( “ fragile ” ) , Latin frangō ( “ break, break up, shatter ” , verb ) , whence English fracture and other terms – fragile , frail , fraction , and fragment .
Verb
break (third-person singular simple present breaks , present participle breaking , simple past broke or ( archaic ) brake , past participle broken or ( colloquial ) broke )
( transitive , intransitive ) To separate into two or more pieces , to fracture or crack , by a process that cannot easily be reversed for reassembly .
If the vase falls to the floor, it might break .
In order to tend to the accident victim, he will break the window of the car.
2012 May 8, Yotam Ottolenghi , Sami Tamimi, Ottolenghi: The Cookbook [1] , Random House , →ISBN , page 79 :First, marinate the tofu. In a bowl, whisk the kecap manis, chilli sauce, and sesame oil together. Cut the tofu into strips about 1cm thick, mix gently (so it doesn't break ) with the marinade and leave in the fridge for half an hour.
( transitive , intransitive ) To crack or fracture (bone) under a physical strain .
His ribs broke under the weight of the rocks piled on his chest.
She broke her neck.
He slipped on the ice and broke his leg.
( transitive ) To divide (something, often money) into smaller units.
Can you break a hundred-dollar bill for me?
The wholesaler broke the container loads into palettes and boxes for local retailers.
( transitive ) To cause (a person or animal) to lose spirit or will ; to crush the spirits of.
Her child's death broke Angela.
Interrogators have used many forms of torture to break prisoners of war.
The interrogator hoped to break her to get her testimony against her accomplices.
1611 , King James Version , Job 9:16–17:
If I had called, and he had answered me; yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice. For he breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without cause.
1613 , William Shakespeare and John Fletcher , Henry VIII , Act IV, Sc. 2:
An old man, broken with the storms of state,
Is come to lay his weary bones among ye;
Give him a little earth for charity
To turn an animal into a beast of burden .
You have to break an elephant before you can use it as an animal of burden.
( intransitive ) To be crushed, or overwhelmed with sorrow or grief.
My heart is breaking .
( transitive ) To interrupt; to destroy the continuity of; to dissolve or terminate.
I've got to break this habit I have of biting my nails.
to break silence; to break one's sleep; to break one's journey
I had won four games in a row, but now you've broken my streak of luck.
(Can we date this quote by Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
Go, release them, Ariel; / My charms I'll break , their senses I'll restore.
( transitive ) To ruin financially.
The recession broke some small businesses.
(Can we date this quote by Dryden and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
With arts like these rich Matho, when he speaks, / Attracts all fees, and little lawyers breaks .
( transitive ) To violate , to not adhere to.
When you go to Vancouver, promise me you won't break the law.
He broke his vows by cheating on his wife.
break one's word
Time travel would break the laws of physics.
(Can we date this quote by Milton and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
Out, out, hyena! these are thy wonted arts [ …] / To break all faith, all vows, deceive, betray.
( intransitive , of a fever) To pass the most dangerous part of the illness; to go down, in terms of temperature.
Susan's fever broke at about 3 AM, and the doctor said the worst was over.
( intransitive , of a spell of settled weather) To end.
The forecast says the hot weather will break by midweek.
( intransitive , of a storm) To begin; to end.
We ran to find shelter before the storm broke .
Around midday the storm broke , and the afternoon was calm and sunny.
( intransitive , of morning, dawn, day etc.) To arrive.
Morning has broken .
The day broke crisp and clear.
(Can we date this quote by Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
The day begins to break , and night is fled.
( transitive , gaming slang ) To render (a game) unchallenging by altering its rules or exploiting loopholes or weaknesses in them in a way that gives a player an unfair advantage .
Changing the rules to let white have three extra queens would break chess.
I broke the RPG by training every member of my party to cast fireballs as well as use swords.
( transitive , intransitive ) To stop , or to cause to stop, functioning properly or altogether .
On the hottest day of the year the refrigerator broke .
Did you two break the trolley by racing with it?
( specifically, in programming ) To cause (some feature of a program or piece of software ) to stop functioning properly ; to cause a regression .
Adding 64-bit support broke backward compatibility with earlier versions.
( transitive ) To cause (a barrier ) to no longer bar .
break a seal
( specifically ) To cause the shell of (an egg) to crack, so that the inside (yolk) is accessible.
( specifically ) To open (a safe ) without using the correct key, combination, or the like.
( transitive ) To destroy the arrangement of; to throw into disorder; to pierce.
The cavalry were not able to break the British squares.
( intransitive , of a wave of water) To collapse into surf , after arriving in shallow water. A wave breaking .
( intransitive ) To burst forth; to make its way; to come into view.
(Can we date this quote by Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
The clouds are still above; and, while I speak, / A second deluge o'er our head may break .
(Can we date this quote by Wordsworth and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
And from the turf a fountain broke , / And gurgled at our feet.
( intransitive ) To interrupt or cease one's work or occupation temporarily .
Let's break for lunch.
( transitive ) To interrupt (a fall ) by inserting something so that the falling object does not (immediately) hit something else beneath.
He survived the jump out the window because the bushes below broke his fall.
( transitive , ergative ) To disclose or make known an item of news , etc.
The newsman wanted to break a big story, something that would make him famous.
I don't know how to break this to you, but your cat is not coming back.
In the latest breaking news...
When news of their divorce broke , ...
( intransitive , of a sound ) To become audible suddenly.
c. 1843 , George Lippard , The Battle-Day of Germantown , reprinted in Washington and His Generals "1776" , page 45 [2] :
Like the crash of thunderbolts [ …] , the sound of musquetry broke over the lawn, [ …] .
( transitive ) To change a steady state abruptly .
His coughing broke the silence.
His turning on the lights broke the enchantment.
With the mood broken , what we had been doing seemed pretty silly.
( copulative , informal ) To suddenly become.
Things began breaking bad for him when his parents died.
The arrest was standard, when suddenly the suspect broke ugly.
( intransitive ) Of a male voice, to become deeper at puberty .
( intransitive ) Of a voice, to alter in type due to emotion or strain: in men generally to go up, in women sometimes to go down; to crack .
His voice breaks when he gets emotional.
( transitive ) To surpass or do better than (a specific number), to do better than (a record ), setting a new record.
He broke the men's 100-meter record.
I can't believe she broke 3 under par!
The policeman broke sixty on a residential street in his hurry to catch the thief.
( sports and games ) :
( transitive , tennis ) To win a game (against one's opponent) as receiver .
He needs to break serve to win the match.
2012 June 28, Jamie Jackson, “Wimbledon 2012: Lukas Rosol shocked by miracle win over Rafael Nadal”, in the Guardian [3] :Yet when play restarted the Czech was a train that kept on running over Nadal. After breaking Nadal in the opening game of the final set, he went 2-0 up and later took the count to 4-2 with yet another emphatic ace – one of his 22 throughout.
( intransitive , billiards , snooker , pool) To make the first shot ; to scatter the balls from the initial neat arrangement.
Is it your or my turn to break ?
( transitive , backgammon ) To remove one of the two men on (a point ).
( transitive , military , most often in the passive tense) To demote , to reduce the military rank of.
1953 February 9, “Books: First Rulers of Asia ”, in Time :
And he played no favorites: when his son-in-law sacked a city he had been told to spare, Genghis broke him to private.
1968 , William Manchester , The Arms of Krupp , Back Bay (2003), →ISBN , page 215 :
One morning after the budget had failed to balance Finanzminister von Scholz picked up Der Reichsanzeiger and found he had been broken to sergeant.
2006 , Peter Collier , Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty , Second Edition, Artisan Books, →ISBN , page 42 :
Not long after this event, Clausen became involved in another disciplinary situation and was broken to private—the only one to win the Medal of Honor in Vietnam.
( transitive ) To end (a connection), to disconnect .
The referee ordered the boxers to break the clinch.
The referee broke the boxers' clinch.
I couldn't hear a thing he was saying, so I broke the connection and called him back.
( intransitive , of an emulsion ) To demulsify .
2004 , J. L. Atwood, Jonathan W. Steed, Encyclopedia of supramolecular chemistry [4] , volume 2, page 1466 :Conversely, as the emulsion breaks and the system returns to the original state, energy is released.
2006 , Johan Sjöblom, Emulsions and emulsion stability [5] , volume 22 , page 400 :When the droplets hit a solid wall the emulsion breaks instantly forming a bitumen on the wall and thus a layer up to 1 cm thick can be sprayed in one operation without requiring drying in between.
( intransitive , sports ) To counter-attack
2010 December 28, Kevin Darlin, “West Brom 1 - 3 Blackburn”, in BBC [6] :The Baggies almost hit back instantly when Graham Dorrans broke from midfield and pulled the trigger from 15 yards but Paul Robinson did superbly to tip the Scot's drive around the post.
( transitive , obsolete ) To lay open, as a purpose; to disclose, divulge, or communicate.
(Can we date this quote by Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
Katharine, break thy mind to me.
( intransitive ) To become weakened in constitution or faculties; to lose health or strength.
(Can we date this quote by Jonathan Swift and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
See how the dean begins to break ; / Poor gentleman he droops apace.
( intransitive , obsolete ) To fail in business; to become bankrupt .
(Can we date this quote by Francis Bacon and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
He that puts all upon adventures doth oftentimes break , and come to poverty.
( transitive ) To destroy the strength, firmness, or consistency of.
to break flax
( transitive ) To destroy the official character and standing of; to cashier; to dismiss.
(Can we date this quote by Jonathan Swift and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
I see a great officer broken .
( intransitive ) To make an abrupt or sudden change; to change the gait.
to break into a run or gallop
( intransitive , archaic ) To fall out; to terminate friendship.
(Can we date this quote by Collier and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
To break upon the score of danger or expense is to be mean and narrow-spirited.
Conjugation
Quotations
Synonyms
( ergative: separate into two or more pieces ) : burst , bust , shatter , shear , smash , split
( ergative: crack (bone) ) : crack , fracture
( transitive: turn an animal into a beast of burden ) : break in , subject , tame
( transitive: do that which is forbidden by ) : contravene , go against , violate
( intransitive: stop functioning ) : break down , bust , fail , go down ( of a computer or computer network )
Antonyms
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Coordinate terms
Translations
intransitive: to separate into (to end up in) two or more pieces
Afrikaans: breek (af)
Albanian: thyej (sq)
Arabic: اِنْكَسَرَ ( inkasara )
Armenian: ջարդվել (hy) ( ǰardvel ) , կոտրվել (hy) ( kotrvel )
Aromanian: arup , frãngu , aspargu
Assamese:
Central: ভাঙা ( bhaṅa )
Eastern: ভঙা ( bhoṅa )
Azerbaijani: sınmaq , qırılmaq (az)
Bakhtiari: اشکندن ( eškanden )
Basque: puskatu (eu) , hautsi , apurtu
Belarusian: ( into two pieces ) лама́цца impf ( lamácca ) , злама́цца pf ( zlamácca ) ; ( into more than two pieces ) разбіва́цца impf ( razbivácca ) , разбі́цца pf ( razbícca )
Bulgarian: чу́пя се (bg) ( čúpja se )
Chinese:
Mandarin: 打破 (zh) ( dǎpò )
Czech: rozbít (cs) se, zlomit (cs) se
Danish: gå i stykker , gå itu
Dutch: breken (nl)
Esperanto: rompi (eo) , rompiĝi
Finnish: särkyä (fi) , mennä rikki (fi) , hajota (fi) , murtua (fi)
French: se rompre (fr) , se casser (fr) , se briser (fr)
Galician: romper
Georgian: ტყდომა ( ṭq̇doma ) , მტვრევა ( mṭvreva )
German: zerbrechen (de) , kaputtgehen (de) , brechen (de)
Old High German: brehhan
Greek: σπάω (el) ( spáo )
Ancient Greek: ῤήγνυμαι ( rḗgnumai )
Hebrew: נשבר ( nishbár )
Hindi: please add this translation if you can
Hungarian: törik (hu) , eltörik , összetörik (hu) , szakad (hu) , elszakad (hu)
Icelandic: brotna
Ido: ruptar (io)
Indonesian: patah (id)
Irish: bris
Italian: rompere (it)
Japanese: 割れる (ja) ( wareru ) , 散らばる ( chirabaru )
Khmer: បាក់ (km) ( bak ) , បែក (km) ( baek )
Korean: 부러지다 (ko) ( bureojida )
Latgalian: lyuzt
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Latin: cōnfringō , frangō (la) , rumpō , frangere (la)
Latvian: salūzt , lūzt
Lithuanian: sulaužyti
Low German: breken
German Low German: briäken (nds) ( Münsterland )
Maltese: nkiser
Maore Comorian: ufusiha , upasuha
Middle Dutch: breken
Mongolian: хагарах (mn) ( xagarax )
Ngazidja Comorian: uvundziha
North Frisian:
Föhr-Amrum: breeg
Helgoland and Sylt: breek
Mooring and Hallig: breege
Old English: brecan
Old Frisian: breka
Old Saxon: brekan
Persian: خرد کردن (fa) ( xord kardan ) , شکستن (fa) ( šekastan )
Polish: ( two pieces ) łamać się (pl) impf , złamać się (pl) pf , rozbić się (pl) , ( more pieces ) połamać się
Portuguese: quebrar (pt) , partir (pt) , ( if flexible material ) romper (pt)
Quechua: p'akiy
Romanian: ( se ) (please verify ) a (ro) frânge , ( se ) (please verify ) a (ro) rupe , (please verify ) sparge (ro)
Russian: ( into two pieces ) лома́ться (ru) impf ( lomátʹsja ) , слома́ться (ru) pf ( slomátʹsja ) ; ( into more than two pieces ) разбива́ться (ru) impf ( razbivátʹsja ) , разби́ться (ru) pf ( razbítʹsja )
Scottish Gaelic: bris
Slovak: rozbiť sa , zlomiť sa
Slovene: ( two pieces ) zlomiti se , ( more pieces ) razbiti se
Spanish: romperse (es)
Sundanese: pites
Swedish: gå sönder (sv)
Tagalog: mabasag
Telugu: విరుచు (te) ( virucu ) , విరగగొట్టు ( viragagoṭṭu )
Thai: แตก (th) ( dtɛ̀ɛk ) , พัง (th) ( pang ) , หัก (th) ( hàk )
Tok Pisin: bruk
Turkish: kırılmak (tr) , kırmak (tr)
Vietnamese: bị bể
West Frisian: brekke
Yiddish: צעברעכען ( tsebrekhen )
transitive: to separate into (to cause to end up in) two or more pieces
Albanian: thyen
Arabic: كَسَرَ (ar) ( kasara )
Egyptian Arabic: كسر ( kasar )
Armenian: ջարդել (hy) ( ǰardel ) , կոտրել (hy) ( kotrel )
Aromanian: arup , frãngu , crep
Assamese:
Central: ভাঙা ( bhaṅa )
Eastern: ভঙা ( bhoṅa )
Azerbaijani: qırmaq (az) , sındırmaq (az)
Basque: please add this translation if you can
Belarusian: ( into two pieces ) лама́ць impf ( lamácʹ ) , злама́ць pf ( zlamácʹ ) ; ( into more than two pieces ) разбіва́ць impf ( razbivácʹ ) , разбі́ць ( razbícʹ )
Bulgarian: чу́пя (bg) ( čúpja )
Catalan: trencar (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 打破 (zh) ( dǎpò )
Czech: rozbít (cs) , zlomit (cs)
Danish: sønderslå , ødelægge (da) , smadre (da) , knuse (da)
Dutch: breken (nl)
Esperanto: rompi (eo)
Finnish: murtaa (fi) , rikkoa (fi) , särkeä (fi) , taittaa (fi) , hajottaa (fi) , pirstoa
French: rompre (fr) , casser (fr) , briser (fr)
Friulian: rompi , crevâ , franzi , frangi
Galician: crebar (gl) , quebrar (gl)
Georgian: ტყდომა ( ṭq̇doma ) , მსხვრევა ( msxvreva )
German: brechen (de) , zerbrechen (de)
Gothic: 𐌱𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽 ( brikan )
Greek:
Ancient Greek: ῥήγνυμι ( rhḗgnumi )
Guaraní: joka
Hebrew: שבר (he) ( shavár )
Hindi: टूटना (hi) ( ṭūṭnā )
Hungarian: tör (hu) , eltör (hu) , összetör (hu) , szakít (hu) , elszakít (hu)
Indonesian: mematahkan (id)
Irish: bris
Italian: rompere (it)
Japanese: 割る (ja) ( waru ) , 壊す (ja) ( kowasu ) , 砕く (ja) ( kudaku )
Kazakh: сындыру (kk) ( syndyru )
Khmer: បែក (km) ( baek )
Korean: 깨트리다 (ko) ( kkaeteurida ) , 부러뜨리다 (ko) ( bureotteurida ) , 부수다 (ko) ( busuda )
Kurdish:
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Kyrgyz: сындыруу (ky) ( sındıruu )
Latgalian: salauzt , salauzeit
Latin: cōnfringō , frangō (la) , rumpō
Latvian: salauzt , lauzt
Lithuanian: sulaužyti
Macedonian: кр́ши ( kŕši )
Maltese: kiser
Mongolian: хагалах (mn) ( xagalax )
Neapolitan: rompe
Ngazidja Comorian: uvundza , huungua , upasua
Norman: rompre ( Jersey )
Occitan: fragar , esberlar (oc) , quebrar
Old English: ofbrecan
Persian: شکستن (fa) ( šekastan )
Polabian: lümĕt impf , vėzlümĕt pf
Polish: łamać (pl) impf , złamać (pl) pf , rozbijać (pl)
Portuguese: quebrar (pt) , partir (pt) , ( if flexible ) romper (pt)
Quechua: llik'iy , pakii
Romanian: rupe (ro) , frânge (ro) , sfărâma (ro) , crăpa (ro)
Romansch: rumper , romper
Russian: разбива́ть (ru) impf ( razbivátʹ ) , разби́ть (ru) pf ( razbítʹ ) , лома́ть (ru) impf ( lomátʹ ) , слома́ть (ru) pf ( slomátʹ )
Sanskrit: भनक्ति ( bhanakti )
Scottish Gaelic: bris
Serbo-Croatian: lomiti (sh) , ломити
Sinhalese: කඩනවා ( kaḍanawā )
Slovak: rozbiť , zlomiť
Slovene: ( two pieces ) zlomiti (sl) , ( more pieces ) razbiti
Sorbian:
Upper Sorbian: łamać impf , złamać pf
Spanish: romper (es) , quebrar (es)
Sundanese: mites
Swedish: bryta (sv) , ta isär , ha isär , slå sönder (sv)
Tagalog: basagin
Tajik: шикастан (tg) ( šikastan )
Tatar: сындырырга ( sındırırga )
Thai: หัก (th) ( hàk )
Tok Pisin: brukim
Turkish: kırmak (tr)
Turkmen: gyrmak , dövmek
Ukrainian: розбива́ти impf ( rozbyváty ) , розби́ти ( rozbýty ) , лама́ти impf ( lamáty ) , злама́ти ( zlamáty )
Urdu: ٹوٹنا (ur) ( ṭūṭnā )
Uzbek: sindirmoq (uz) , buzmoq (uz)
Vietnamese: làm bể
Yiddish: צעברעכן ( tsebrekhn )
intransitive, of a bone: to crack
transitive: to cause (a bone) to crack
to divide (money) into smaller units
to cause a person lose spirit or will
to turn an animal into a beast of burden
to cause a habit no longer exist
transitive: to do that which is forbidden by (something)
Armenian: խախտել (hy) ( xaxtel )
Azerbaijani: pozmaq
Bulgarian: нарушавам (bg) ( narušavam )
Chinese:
Mandarin: 破戒,犯戒
Czech: porušit
Danish: bryde (da) , krænke ( violate )
Dutch: breken (nl) , overtreden (nl)
Finnish: rikkoa (fi)
French: outrepasser (fr)
German: brechen (de)
Hebrew: הפר (he) ( hefér )
Hungarian: megszeg (hu) , szeg (hu) , megsért (hu) , sért (hu)
Icelandic: brjóta (is)
Italian: oltrepassare (it) , sfondare (it) , superare (it)
Japanese: 破る (ja) ( yaburu ) , 犯す (ja) ( okasu )
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Korean: 깨다 (ko) ( kkaeda )
Latvian: pārkāpt
Maori: pekehāwani ( refers to a truce or an agreement ) , takahi ( rules, the law, customs etc )
Mongolian: зөрчих (mn) ( zörčix )
Persian: شکستن (fa) ( šekastan )
Portuguese: desrespeitar (pt) , violar (pt)
Russian: наруша́ть (ru) impf ( narušátʹ ) , нару́шить (ru) pf ( narúšitʹ )
Scottish Gaelic: bris
Slovak: porušiť
Slovene: prekršiti
Swedish: bryta (sv)
Telugu: (please verify ) అతిక్రమించు (te) ( atikramiñcu ) , (please verify ) మీరు (హద్దుమీరు) (te) ( mīru (haddumīru) )
Thai: ละเมิด (th) ( lá-mə̂ət ) , ฝ่าฝืน (th) ( fàa-fʉ̌ʉn )
Tok Pisin: brukim
Ukrainian: пору́шувати ( porúšuvaty )
gaming: to design or make a powerful, unbalancing but legal move
intransitive: to stop functioning properly or altogether
Armenian: փչանալ (hy) ( pʻčʻanal )
Azerbaijani: sınmaq , xarab olmaq
Bulgarian: развалям се ( razvaljam se )
Chinese:
Mandarin: 坏 (zh) ( pī )
Czech: rozbít se , polámat se , přestat fungovat , pokazit se
Danish: bryde sammen , gå i stykker , gå itu
Dutch: stukgaan (nl) , kapotgaan (nl)
Finnish: hajota (fi) , mennä rikki (fi) , ( colloquial ) tiltata
French: se casser (fr) , tomber en panne (fr)
German: kaputtgehen (de)
Greek: χαλάω (el) ( chaláo )
Hebrew: התקלקל ( hitkalkél )
Hungarian: elromlik (hu) , tönkremegy (hu)
Icelandic: brjóta (is)
Irish: bris
Italian: rompersi (it) , scassarsi
Japanese: 壊れる (ja) ( kowareru )
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Korean: 부서지다 (ko) ( buseojida )
Latvian: salūzt , lūzt
Portuguese: quebrar (pt) , partir (pt)
Russian: лома́ться (ru) impf ( lomátʹsja ) , слома́ться (ru) pf ( slomátʹsja )
Scottish Gaelic: bris
Slovak: pokaziť sa
Slovene: pokvariti se
Spanish: descomponerse (es)
Swahili: kuvunjika
Swedish: gå sönder (sv)
Tagalog: masira
Telugu: చెడిపోవు (te) ( ceḍipōvu )
Thai: พัง (th) ( pang ) , ชำรุด (th)
Tok Pisin: bruk
Turkish: bozulmak (tr)
Vietnamese: hỏng (vi)
transitive: to cause to stop functioning
Armenian: ջարդել (hy) ( ǰardel ) , կոտրել (hy) ( kotrel ) , փչացնել (hy) ( pʻčʻacʻnel )
Azerbaijani: xarab eləmək , sındırmaq (az)
Bulgarian: развалям (bg) ( razvaljam ) , разбивам (bg) ( razbivam )
Chinese:
Mandarin: 破坏 (zh) ( pòhuài ) , 损坏 (zh) ( sǔnhuài )
Czech: pokazit
Danish: ødelægge (da) , smadre (da)
Dutch: kapotmaken (nl) , stukmaken (nl)
Finnish: rikkoa (fi) , särkeä (fi)
French: casser (fr) , mettre en panne
German: kaputtmachen (de)
Greek: χαλάω (el) ( chaláo )
Hebrew: שבר (he) ( shavár )
Hungarian: elront (hu) , tönkretesz (hu)
Icelandic: skemma (is) , eyðileggja (is)
Irish: bris
Italian: fermare (it) , interrompere (it) , stoppare (it)
(deprecated template usage ) {{trans-mid }}
Japanese: 壊す (ja) ( kowasu ) , 破壊する (ja) ( hakai suru )
Korean: 부수다 (ko) ( busuda )
Latvian: salauzt , lauzt
Maori: whakakaurapa
Persian: خراب کردن (fa) ( xarâb kardan )
Portuguese: estragar (pt) , partir (pt)
Russian: лома́ть (ru) impf ( lomátʹ ) , слома́ть (ru) pf ( slomátʹ ) , по́ртить (ru) impf ( pórtitʹ ) , испо́ртить (ru) pf ( ispórtitʹ )
Scottish Gaelic: bris
Slovak: pokaziť , znefunkčniť
Slovene: pokvariti
Spanish: descomponer (es)
Swahili: kuvunja
Swedish: ha sönder , ta sönder (sv)
Tagalog: sirain
Thai: พัง (th) ( pang ) , ชำรุด (th)
Tok Pisin: brukim
Turkish: bozmak (tr)
to cause to no longer bar
of a wave, to collapse into a surf
of a spell of weather: to end
to interrupt or cease one's work or occupation temporarily
to disclose or make known an item of news
to become audible suddenly
to change a steady state abruptly
of a male voice, to become deeper at puberty
of a voice, to alter in type due to emotion or strain [existing translations are to be checked, whether they belong to the previous sense]
to do better than a record
to win a game as receiver in tennis
billiards: to make the first shot
to reduce the military rank of
Translations to be checked
Noun
break (plural breaks )
An instance of breaking something into two or more pieces.
The femur has a clean break and so should heal easily.
A physical space that opens up in something or between two things.
The sun came out in a break in the clouds.
He waited minutes for a break in the traffic to cross the highway.
A rest or pause , usually from work .
Let’s take a five-minute break .
( UK ) a time for students to talk or play.
A short holiday .
a weekend break on the Isle of Wight
A temporary split with a romantic partner.
I think we need a break .
An interval or intermission between two parts of a performance, for example a theatre show, broadcast, or sports game.
2010 December 29, Chris Whyatt, “Chelsea 1 - 0 Bolton”, in BBC [7] :But they marginally improved after the break as Didier Drogba hit the post.
A significant change in circumstance, attitude , perception , or focus of attention.
big break
lucky break , bad break
The beginning (of the morning).
at the break of day
An act of escaping .
make a break for it, for the door
It was a clean break .
prison break
( computing ) The separation between lines or paragraphs of a written text.
( British , weather) A change, particularly the end of a spell of persistent good or bad weather .
( sports and games ) :
( tennis ) A game won by the receiving player (s).
( billiards , snooker , pool) The first shot in a game of billiards
( snooker ) The number of points scored by one player in one visit to the table
( soccer ) The counter-attack
2010 December 28, Owen Phillips, “Sunderland 0 - 2 Blackpool”, in BBC [8] :Blackpool were not without their opportunities - thanks to their willingness to commit and leave men forward even when under severe pressure - and they looked very capable of scoring on the break .
( surfing ) A place where waves break (that is, where waves pitch or spill forward creating white water ).
The final break in the Greenmount area is Kirra Point.
( dated ) A large four-wheeled carriage , having a straight body and calash top, with the driver's seat in front and the footman's behind.
( equitation ) A sharp bit or snaffle .
(Can we date this quote by Gascoigne and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
Pampered jades [ …] which need nor break nor bit.
( music ) A short section of music, often between verses, in which some performers stop while others continue.
The fiddle break was amazing; it was a pity the singer came back in on the wrong note.
( music ) The point in the musical scale at which a woodwind instrument is designed to overblow , that is, to move from its lower to its upper register.
Crossing the break smoothly is one of the first lessons the young clarinettist needs to master.
( geography ) usu. plural An area along a river that features steep banks, bluffs, or gorges (e.g., Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument , US).
Usage notes
music The instruments that are named are the ones that carry on playing, for example a fiddle break implies that the fiddle is the most prominent instrument playing during the break.
Synonyms
( instance of breaking something into two pieces ) : split
( physical space that opens up in something or between two things ) : breach , gap , space
( rest or pause, usually from work ) : time out
( time for playing outside ) : recess ( US )
Derived terms
Terms derived from break (noun)
Translations
instance of breaking something into pieces
Bulgarian: счупване (bg) n ( sčupvane )
Danish: brud (da) n
Finnish: murtuma (fi) , murtaminen (fi) , särkeminen (fi) , särkyminen (fi) , rikkominen (fi) , rikkoutuminen (fi)
French: casse (fr) f
Galician: crebadura f , quebradura f
German: Bruch (de) m
Hebrew: שְׁבִירָה f ( sh'virá )
Latvian: lūšana f
Manx: brishey m
(deprecated template usage ) {{trans-mid }}
Norwegian:
Bokmål: brudd n
Portuguese: quebra (pt) f
Romanian: întrerupere (ro) f , rupere (ro) f , ruptură (ro) f , fractură (ro) f
Slovak: lom , zlom , zlomenina
Spanish: ruptura (es) f
Swedish: brott (sv) n
physical space that opens up in something or between two things
Bulgarian: цепнатина (bg) f ( cepnatina ) , пукнатина (bg) f ( puknatina )
Danish: åbning c , hul (da) n
Finnish: aukko (fi)
French: espace (fr) m , ouverture (fr) f
German: Öffnung (de) f , Spalt (de) m
Japanese: 割れ目 ( wareme ) , 隙間 (ja) ( sukima )
Latvian: lūzums m
Norwegian:
Bokmål: åpning (no) m or f , hull (no) n
(deprecated template usage ) {{trans-mid }}
Portuguese: fenda (pt) f , fresta (pt) f
Romanian: crăpătură (ro) f , spațiu (gol) n , deschidere (ro) f , spărtură (ro) f
Russian: разло́м (ru) ( razlóm )
Slovak: medzera (sk)
Tagalog: pugto
rest or pause, usually from work
temporary split in romantic relationship
significant change in circumstance
surfing: place where waves break
tennis: game won by receiving party
billiards, snooker: first shot
snooker: number of points in one visit
Etymology 2
Clipping of breakdown ( the percussion break of songs chosen by a DJ for use in hip-hop music ) and see also breakdancing .
Noun
break (plural breaks )
( music ) A section of extended repetition of the percussion break to a song, created by a hip-hop DJ as rhythmic dance music .
References
“break ”, in OneLook Dictionary Search .
2001. The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: North America . Garland Publishing. Ellen Koskoff (Ed.). Pgs. 694-695.
Anagrams
French
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
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Borrowed from English break .
Noun
break m (plural breaks )
break ( pause, holiday )
Synonym: pause
C’est l’heure de faire un break . ― It's time to take a break .
( tennis ) break ( of serve )
Etymology 2
un break
From earlier break de chasse , from English shooting brake .
Noun
break m (plural breaks )
( automotive ) estate car , station wagon
Antonym: berline
References
Italian
Etymology
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Borrowed from English break .
Noun
break m (uncountable )
break (intermission or brief suspension of activity)
Interjection
break
break ! (boxing)
Spanish
Noun
break m (plural breaks )
break ( pause )
( tennis ) break