Word Meaning

Meaning of break

- To strain apart; to sever by fracture; to divide with violence; as, to break a rope or chain; to break a seal; to break an axle; to break rocks or coal; to break a lock.
- To lay open as by breaking; to divide; as, to break a package of goods.
- To lay open, as a purpose; to disclose, divulge, or communicate.
- To infringe or violate, as an obligation, law, or promise.
- To interrupt; to destroy the continuity of; to dissolve or terminate; as, to break silence; to break one's sleep; to break one's journey.
- To destroy the completeness of; to remove a part from; as, to break a set.
- To destroy the arrangement of; to throw into disorder; to pierce; as, the cavalry were not able to break the British squares.
- To shatter to pieces; to reduce to fragments.
- To exchange for other money or currency of smaller denomination; as, to break a five dollar bill.
- To destroy the strength, firmness, or consistency of; as, to break flax.
- To weaken or impair, as health, spirit, or mind.
- To diminish the force of; to lessen the shock of, as a fall or blow.
- To impart, as news or information; to broach; -- with to, and often with a modified word implying some reserve; as, to break the news gently to the widow; to break a purpose cautiously to a friend.
- To tame; to reduce to subjection; to make tractable; to discipline; as, to break a horse to the harness or saddle.
- To destroy the financial credit of; to make bankrupt; to ruin.
- To destroy the official character and standing of; to cashier; to dismiss.
- To come apart or divide into two or more pieces, usually with suddenness and violence; to part; to burst asunder.
- To open spontaneously, or by pressure from within, as a bubble, a tumor, a seed vessel, a bag.
- To burst forth; to make its way; to come to view; to appear; to dawn.
- To burst forth violently, as a storm.
- To open up; to be scattered; to be dissipated; as, the clouds are breaking.
- To become weakened in constitution or faculties; to lose health or strength.
- To be crushed, or overwhelmed with sorrow or grief; as, my heart is breaking.
- To fall in business; to become bankrupt.
- To make an abrupt or sudden change; to change the gait; as, to break into a run or gallop.
- To fail in musical quality; as, a singer's voice breaks when it is strained beyond its compass and a tone or note is not completed, but degenerates into an unmusical sound instead. Also, to change in tone, as a boy's voice at puberty.
- To fall out; to terminate friendship.
- An opening made by fracture or disruption.
- An interruption of continuity; change of direction; as, a break in a wall; a break in the deck of a ship.
- A projection or recess from the face of a building.
- An opening or displacement in the circuit, interrupting the electrical current.
- An interruption; a pause; as, a break in friendship; a break in the conversation.
- An interruption in continuity in writing or printing, as where there is an omission, an unfilled line, etc.
- The first appearing, as of light in the morning; the dawn; as, the break of day; the break of dawn.
- A large four-wheeled carriage, having a straight body and calash top, with the driver's seat in front and the footman's behind.
- A device for checking motion, or for measuring friction. See Brake, n. 9 & 10.
- See Commutator.

Crossword clue for break

- Adjournment
- Armistice
- Beat (track record)
- Breach (rule)
- Breathing space
- Brief respite
- comma
- Fall apart
- Fracture
- Interval
- Opening shot in snooker
- Shatter
- Short holiday
- Smash
- Snap
- Split up
- Undo