breakneck

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English

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Etymology

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From break +‎ neck.

Adjective

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breakneck (comparative more breakneck, superlative most breakneck)

  1. Dangerously fast; hell-for-leather.
    breakneck pace
    He came running around the corner at a breakneck pace and couldn't stop in time to avoid hitting the fruit stand.
    • 1961 November, H. G. Ellison, P. G. Barlow, “Journey through France: Part One”, in Trains Illustrated, page 668:
      The line to Dunières conists of a series of breakneck descents almost invariably ended by a violent curve and followed immediately by a panting climb, on which the engine barked thunderously but failed unhappily to maintain its booked speed of 13 m.p.h.
    • 2023 June 27, Clea Skopeliti, “‘The future is bleak’: how AI concerns are shaping graduate’s career choices”, in The Guardian[1], →ISSN:
      The use of machine learning in this field is hardly new, but the breakneck pace at which it is improving is worrying, Lund says: “With the advent of ChatGPT, the future is bleak.”

Translations

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Adverb

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breakneck (not comparable)

  1. Dangerously fast.
    • 2009, Carlos Reid, Stalking the Warden, page 165:
      I ran breakneck another hundred yards.

Noun

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breakneck (plural breaknecks)

  1. A fall that breaks the neck.
  2. A dangerous steep place from which one could fall and be injured.

Anagrams

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