Word Games Pro Dictionary
break
an escape from jail
Quick reference
Word Facts
Listen
Audio Pronunciation
Audio pronunciation is unavailable for this word.
Meaning
Definitions
noun
an escape from jail
“the breakout was carefully planned”
noun
any frame in which a bowler fails to make a strike or spare
“the break in the eighth frame cost him the match”
noun
a sudden dash
“he made a break for the open door”
noun
the act of breaking something
“the breakage was unavoidable”
noun
an act of delaying or interrupting the continuity
“it was presented without commercial breaks”
noun
(tennis) a score consisting of winning a game when your opponent was serving
“he was up two breaks in the second set”
noun
the opening shot that scatters the balls in billiards or pool
noun
a pause from doing something (as work)
“we took a 10-minute break”
noun
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”
noun
a personal or social separation (as between opposing factions)
“they hoped to avoid a break in relations”
noun
an unexpected piece of good luck
“he finally got his big break”
noun
the occurrence of breaking
“the break in the dam threatened the valley”
noun
some abrupt occurrence that interrupts an ongoing activity
“the telephone is an annoying interruption”
noun
(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”
noun
breaking of hard tissue such as bone
“it was a nasty fracture”
noun
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
verb
weaken or destroy in spirit or body
“His resistance was broken”
verb
diminish or discontinue abruptly
“The patient's fever broke last night”
verb
fracture a bone of
“I broke my foot while playing hockey”
verb
fall sharply
“stock prices broke”
verb
make submissive, obedient, or useful
“The horse was tough to break”
verb
be broken in
“If the new teacher won't break, we'll add some stress”
verb
crack; of the male voice in puberty
“his voice is breaking — he should no longer sing in the choir”
verb
render inoperable or ineffective
“You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!”
verb
become separated into pieces or fragments
“The figurine broke”
verb
destroy the integrity of; usually by force; cause to separate into pieces or fragments
“He broke the glass plate”
verb
become fractured; break or crack on the surface only
“The glass cracked when it was heated”
verb
happen
“Report the news as it develops”
verb
terminate or end
“She interrupted her pregnancy”
verb
lessen in force or effect
“soften a shock”
verb
stop operating or functioning
“The engine finally went”
verb
change suddenly from one tone quality or register to another
“Her voice broke to a whisper when she started to talk about her children”
verb
come into being
“light broke over the horizon”
verb
find the solution or key to
“break the code”
verb
find a flaw in
“break an alibi”
verb
undergo breaking
“The simple vowels broke in many Germanic languages”
verb
interrupt the flow of current in
“break a circuit”
verb
cease an action temporarily
“We pause for station identification”
verb
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”
verb
be released or become known; of news
“News of her death broke in the morning”
verb
surpass in excellence
“She bettered her own record”
verb
pierce or penetrate
“The blade broke her skin”
verb
become punctured or penetrated
“The skin broke”
verb
break a piece from a whole
“break a branch from a tree”
verb
go to pieces
“The lawn mower finally broke”
verb
ruin completely
“He busted my radio!”
verb
separate from a clinch, in boxing
“The referee broke the boxers”
verb
make the opening shot that scatters the balls
verb
destroy the completeness of a set of related items
“The book dealer would not break the set”
verb
exchange for smaller units of money
“I had to break a $100 bill just to buy the candy”
In context
Example Sentences
the breakout was carefully planned
the break in the eighth frame cost him the match
he made a break for the open door
the breakage was unavoidable
it was presented without commercial breaks
there was a gap in his account
he was up two breaks in the second set
we took a 10-minute break
he took time out to recuperate
then there was a break in her voice
they hoped to avoid a break in relations
he finally got his big break
the break in the dam threatened the valley
the telephone is an annoying interruption
there was a break in the action when a player was hurt
they built it right over a geological fault
he studied the faulting of the earth's crust
it was a nasty fracture
the break seems to have been caused by a fall
His resistance was broken
a man broken by the terrible experience of near-death
The patient's fever broke last night
I broke my foot while playing hockey
She broke her clavicle
stock prices broke
The horse was tough to break
I broke in the new intern
If the new teacher won't break, we'll add some stress
his voice is breaking — he should no longer sing in the choir
You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!
The figurine broke
The freshly baked loaf fell apart
He broke the glass plate
She broke the match
The glass cracked when it was heated
Report the news as it develops
These political movements recrudesce from time to time
She interrupted her pregnancy
break a lucky streak
break the cycle of poverty
soften a shock
break a fall
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 voice broke to a whisper when she started to talk about her children
light broke over the horizon
Voices broke in the air
Similar words
Synonyms
Opposite words
