break
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: brāk
ipa: /bɹeɪk/
ipa: [bɹ(ʷ)eɪ̯k]
ipa: /bɹɛk/
enpr: brēk
ipa: /bɹiːk/
ipa: /brɛːk/
rhymes: -eɪk
homophone: brake
Forms: form: breaks
Etymology: From Middle English breken, from Old English brecan (“to break”), from Proto-West Germanic *brekan, from Proto-Germanic *brekaną (“to break”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- (“to break”). 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.
The modern pronunciation shows an irregular change of Early Modern English /ɛː/ to /eɪ/ in the standard language; contrast this with the development of other words such as speak and wreak.
Senses: examples: text: The femur has a clean break and so should heal easily.
synonyms: split
glosses: An instance of breaking something into two or more pieces.
examples: text: The sun came out in a break in the clouds.
text: He waited minutes for a break in the traffic to cross the highway.
synonyms: word: breach
word: gap
word: space
word: break
word: gap
word: interlapse
word: interspace
word: interstice
word: interstitium
word: opening
word: separation
word: space
word: hole
glosses: A physical space that opens up in something or between two things.
examples: text: But the young activists of Move Forward outmanoeuvred the older party, and beat many of its candidates, with an imaginative, social media-based campaign offering voters a complete break with the past, and a different kind of political leadership.
ref: 2023 May 29, Jonathan Head, “Pita Limjaroenrat: Thai election upstart who vows to be different”, in BBC:
glosses: An interruption of continuity; departure from or rupture with.
examples: text: Let’s take a five-minute break.
synonyms: word: time-out
word: break
word: breather
word: cessation
word: demurral
word: gap
word: caesura
word: hiatus
word: halt
word: halting
word: interregnum
word: interruption
word: lapse
word: moratorium
word: pause
word: recess
word: respite
word: resting
word: stoppage
word: stopping
word: suspension
glosses: A rest or pause, usually from work.
topics: education
synonyms: word: time-out
word: break
word: breather
word: cessation
word: demurral
word: gap
word: caesura
word: hiatus
word: halt
word: halting
word: interregnum
word: interruption
word: lapse
word: moratorium
word: pause
word: recess
word: respite
word: resting
word: stoppage
word: stopping
word: suspension
word: playtime
word: recess
glosses: A rest or pause, usually from work.
A time for students to talk or play between lessons.
examples: text: winter break, spring break
synonyms: word: time-out
word: break
word: breather
word: cessation
word: demurral
word: gap
word: caesura
word: hiatus
word: halt
word: halting
word: interregnum
word: interruption
word: lapse
word: moratorium
word: pause
word: recess
word: respite
word: resting
word: stoppage
word: stopping
word: suspension
glosses: A rest or pause, usually from work.
A scheduled interval of days or weeks between periods of school instruction; a holiday.
examples: text: a weekend break on the Isle of Wight
synonyms: word: day off
word: time off
word: annual leave
word: break
word: day off
word: getaway
word: holiday
word: leave
word: leave of absence
word: pause
word: recess
word: time away
word: time off
word: vac
word: vacation
word: vaca
word: vacay
glosses: A short holiday.
examples: text: I think we need a break.
glosses: A temporary split with a romantic partner.
examples: text: But they marginally improved after the break as Didier Drogba hit the post.
ref: 2010 December 29, Chris Whyatt, “Chelsea 1 - 0 Bolton”, in BBC:
glosses: An interval or intermission between two parts of a performance, for example a theatre show, broadcast, or sports game.
examples: text: big break
text: lucky break, bad break
text: them's the breaks
glosses: A significant change in circumstance, attitude, perception, or focus of attention.
examples: text: Following the invasion of France by the Germans in May of 1940, the securities markets experienced a break in prices.
ref: 1947, Reports of the Tax Court of the United States, volume 8, page 459:
topics: business
finance
glosses: A sudden fall in prices on the stock exchange.
examples: text: daybreak
text: at the break of day
synonyms: word: crack of dawn
word: ass crack of dawn
word: break
word: break of dawn
word: break of day
word: butt crack of dawn
word: cockcrow
word: crack of dawn
word: dawn
word: daybreak
word: daylight
word: dayspring
word: first light
word: lauds
word: solrise
word: sparrow-fart
word: sun
word: sunlight
word: sunrise
word: sunrising
word: sunup
glosses: The beginning (of the morning).
examples: text: to make a break for it; to make a break for the door
text: It was a clean break.
text: prison break
glosses: An act of escaping.
examples: text: No matter how much text you add above the break, the text after the break will always appear at the top of a new page.
ref: 2001, Nan Barber, David Reynolds, Office 2001 for Macintosh: The Missing Manual, page 138:
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: The separation between lines, paragraphs or pages of a written text.
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: A keystroke or other signal that causes a program to terminate or suspend execution.
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
programming
sciences
glosses: Ellipsis of breakpoint.
topics: climatology
meteorology
natural-sciences
weather
glosses: A change, particularly the end of a spell of persistent good or bad weather.
topics: games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
tennis
glosses: A game won by the receiving player(s).
topics: ball-games
billiards
games
hobbies
lifestyle
pool
snooker
sports
glosses: The first shot in a game of billiards.
topics: ball-games
games
hobbies
lifestyle
snooker
sports
glosses: The number of points scored by one player in one visit to the table.
examples: text: 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.
ref: 2010 December 28, Owen Phillips, “Sunderland 0 - 2 Blackpool”, in BBC:
topics: ball-games
games
hobbies
lifestyle
soccer
sports
glosses: The counter-attack.
topics: games
golf
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: The curve imparted to the ball's motion on the green due to slope or grass texture.
examples: text: The final break in the Greenmount area is Kirra Point.
text: One of the most popular summer breaks is just off to one side of the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor entrance, a spot called Ala Moana.
ref: 1966, Bruce Brown, director, The Endless Summer:
topics: games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
surfing
glosses: A place where waves break (that is, where waves pitch or spill forward creating white water).
examples: text: Cigar was distracted at the break and let his five opponents get the jump.
ref: 1999, Jay Hovdey, Cigar: America's Horse, page 63:
text: Perhaps it stumbles to its knees at the break, effectively losing the race at the outset.
ref: 2010, John Alexander, Exotic Wagering the Winning Way, page 60:
topics: games
hobbies
horse-racing
horseracing
horses
lifestyle
pets
racing
sports
glosses: The start of a horse race.
topics: games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: The opening of packages of cards for a collectible card game, often for further distribution to paying customers.
glosses: A large four-wheeled carriage, having a straight body and calash top, with the driver's seat in front and the footman's behind.
glosses: Alternative form of brake (“cart or carriage without a body, for breaking in horses”)
examples: text: Pampered jades […] which need nor break nor bit.
ref: 1576, George Gascoigne, The Steele Glas:
topics: equitation
hobbies
horses
lifestyle
pets
sports
glosses: A sharp bit or snaffle.
examples: text: The fiddle break was amazing; it was a pity the singer came back in on the wrong note.
text: The effect was weird, because with that intuitive sense possessed by the African, every drummer knew exactly when the “breaks” were coming, and whole banks of bass drums would drop out precisely on the beat.
ref: 1937, Ivan T. Sanderson, Animal Treasure, page 233:
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: A short section of music, often between verses, in which some performers stop while others continue.
examples: text: Crossing the break smoothly is one of the first lessons the young clarinettist needs to master.
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: 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.
examples: text: 34. Of the Registers of the Voice - All singers have observed that there are certain parts of the Vocal Scale where a break, as it is called, seldom fails to occur.
ref: 1862, John Winebrenner, The Serephina, Or, Christian Library of Church Music, page 13:
text: The point of division between the two vocal registers is most frequently referred to as the register’s break.
ref: 2007, S. Anthony Frisella, The Baritone Voice: A Personal Guide to Acquiring a Superior Singing Technique, page 14:
text: Boys should continue in their high voice, across the break to the lower range, and end up with a voice that doesn’t have a break (Leck, 2009).
ref: 2018, Karen Brunssen, The Evolving Singing Voice: Changes Across the Lifespan, page 76:
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: The transition area between a singer's vocal registers; the passaggio.
topics: geography
natural-sciences
glosses: An area along a river that features steep banks, bluffs, or gorges (e.g., Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, US).
examples: text: "Maybe he will some day," says the Missus, and then her and Bessie pretended like they'd made a break and was embarrassed.
ref: 1916, Ring W. Lardner, “Three Kings and a Pair”, in The Saturday Evening Post:
glosses: An error.
Derived terms: sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: ad break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: bathroom break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: beach break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: beambreak
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: big break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: bio-break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: bio break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: break and entry
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: break-building
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: break-bulk
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: break clause
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: break dance
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: break dancer
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: break dancing
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: break figure
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: break junction
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: breakless
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: breakly
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: break movie
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: Break O'Day
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: break of dawn
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: break of day
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: break of gauge
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: break point
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: breakproof
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: break room
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: break time
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: breaktime
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: break with tradition
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: career break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: catch a break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: century break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: Christmas break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: city break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: class break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: clean break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: coffee break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: comfort break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: commercial break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: crossbreak
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: dam break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: dambreak
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: daybreak
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: day-break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: double-break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: double break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: double break point
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: fag break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: fast break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: firebreak
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: fire break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: gimme a break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: give it a break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: give someone a break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: half-break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: hammer break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: harvest break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: heartbreak
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: jailbreak
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: jail break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: leg break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: limit break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: lucky break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: lunch break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: lunchbreak
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: make a break for it
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: March break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: maximum break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: microbreak
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: midterm break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: mid-term break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: mind break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: mini-break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: minibreak
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: multibreak
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: nanobreak
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: newsbreak
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: nightbreak
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: no-break space
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: off break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: page break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: paragraph break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: pawn break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: physical break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: pinky break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: point break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: postbreak
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: potty break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: prebreak
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: prison break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: reading break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: reef break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: sand break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: section break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: shelf break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: shelfbreak
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: shore break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: short break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: soft break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: spring break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: station break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: summer break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: sunbreak
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: syllabic break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: take a break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: tax break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: T-break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: tea break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: Thanksgiving break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: thermal break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: Think break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: tie-break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: tie break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: toilet break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: tolerance break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: tough break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: underbreak
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: water break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: waterbreak
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: wet break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: wikibreak
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: wind-break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: wind break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: winter break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: word break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: word-break
sense: Terms derived from break (noun)
word: zoo break