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.