Word: break Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg-der. Proto-Germanic *brekaną Proto-West Germanic *brekan Old English brecan Middle English breken English break 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. Pronunciation: /bɹeɪk/, [bɹʷeɪ̯k], /bɹɛk/, /bɹiːk/, /brɛːk/ 1. An instance of breaking something into two or more pieces. Example: The femur has a clean break and so should heal easily. 2. A physical space that opens up in something or between two things. Example: The sun came out in a break in the clouds. Example: He waited minutes for a break in the traffic to cross the highway. 3. An interruption of continuity; departure from or rupture with. Example: Work commenced at 2.30 p.m. on Saturday and continued without break until 4 a.m. on Monday morning, in the course of which three shifts of upwards of 90 men each and three steam cranes were employed. Example: 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. 4. A rest or pause, usually from work. Example: Let’s take a five-minute break. Example: be on break 5. A rest or pause, usually from work. Labels: UK Example: It was playtime - or rather ‘break’ - and I had brazenly joined in a game of football on the school parade ground. 6. A rest or pause, usually from work. Example: winter break, spring break 7. A short holiday. Example: a weekend break on the Isle of Wight 8. A temporary split with a romantic partner. Example: I think we need a break. 9. An interval or intermission between two parts of a performance, for example a theatre show, broadcast, or sports game. Example: But they marginally improved after the break as Didier Drogba hit the post. 10. A significant change in circumstance, attitude, perception, or focus of attention. Example: big break Example: lucky break, bad break 11. A sudden fall in prices on the stock exchange. Example: Following the invasion of France by the Germans in May of 1940, the securities markets experienced a break in prices. 12. The beginning (of the morning). Example: daybreak Example: at the break of day 13. An act of escaping. Example: to make a break for it; to make a break for the door Example: It was a clean break. 14. The separation between lines, paragraphs or pages of a written text. Example: 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. 15. A keystroke or other signal that causes a program to terminate or suspend execution. 16. Ellipsis of breakpoint. Labels: abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis 17. A change, particularly the end of a spell of persistent good or bad weather. Labels: UK 18. A game won by the receiving player(s). 19. The first shot in a game of billiards. 20. The number of points scored by one player in one visit to the table. 21. The counter-attack. Example: 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. 22. The curve imparted to the ball's motion on the green due to slope or grass texture. 23. A place where waves break (that is, where waves pitch or spill forward creating white water). Example: The final break in the Greenmount area is Kirra Point. Example: 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. 24. The start of a horse race. Example: Cigar was distracted at the break and let his five opponents get the jump. Example: Perhaps it stumbles to its knees at the break, effectively losing the race at the outset. 25. The opening of packages of cards for a collectible card game, often for further distribution to paying customers. 26. A large four-wheeled carriage, having a straight body and calash top, with the driver's seat in front and the footman's behind. Labels: dated 27. Alternative form of brake (“cart or carriage without a body, for breaking in horses”) Labels: alt-of, alternative 28. A sharp bit or snaffle. Example: Pampered jades […] which need nor break nor bit. 29. A short section of music, often between verses, in which some performers stop while others continue. Example: The fiddle break was amazing; it was a pity the singer came back in on the wrong note. Example: 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. 30. 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. Example: Crossing the break smoothly is one of the first lessons the young clarinettist needs to master. 31. The transition area between a singer's vocal registers; the passaggio. Example: 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. Example: The point of division between the two vocal registers is most frequently referred to as the register’s break. 32. An area along a river that features steep banks, bluffs, or gorges (e.g., Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, US). Labels: in-plural 33. An error. Labels: obsolete, slang Example: "Maybe he will some day," says the Missus, and then her and Bessie pretended like they'd made a break and was embarrassed. 34. A crease or fold arising where the pants leg reaches the shoe. Example: A full break or even multiple breaks is an older, more conservative style, as modern pants often end well above the shoe, so there is no break.