Broke Break Broken Breaking News Breɪk I Make

• all the windows broke with the force of the blast.
• the bag broke under the weight of the bottles inside it.
• she dropped the plate and it broke into pieces.
• the boat hit a rock and broke in half.

break

Verb Forms

1. to be damaged and separated into two or more parts, as a result of force; to damage something in this way
• All the windows broke with the force of the blast.
• The bag broke under the weight of the bottles inside it.
• She dropped the plate and it broke into pieces.
• The boat hit a rock and broke in half.
• to break a cup/window
• She fell off a ladder and broke her arm.
• to break a leg/bone
• He broke the chocolate in two.

Extra Examples

• The glass broke into hundreds of pieces.
• How did this dish get broken?
• I didn't mean to break the window.
• She broke the bar in two and gave a piece to me.
2. to stop working as a result of being damaged; to damage something and stop it from working
• My watch has broken.
• I think I've broken the washing machine.
3. to cut the surface of the skin and make it bleed
• The dog bit me but didn't break the skin.
4. to do something that is against the law; to not keep a promise, etc.
• I had broken the law and deserved to be punished.
• People should not be allowed to break the rules.
• to break a promise
• to break an agreement/a contract/your word
• to break an appointment (= not to come to it)
• He was breaking the speed limit (= travelling faster than the law allows).

Extra Examples

• They insist that they have not broken any rules.
• Would you be willing to break the law to achieve your goal?
• She had broken the conditions of her bail.
• She has already broken three appointments.
• Some companies have broken sanctions by supplying arms to the warring states.
• I've never broken my word; why should I do it now?
• Perhaps it is more courageous to break a promise if it means saving the economy.
5. to stop doing something for a while, especially when it is time to eat or have a drink
• Let's break for lunch.
• Parliament breaks for recess next week.
• We broke early and went for a drink.
• Their sleep was broken by noise from the street.
• We broke our journey in Oxford (= stopped in Oxford on the way to the place we were going to).
6. to interrupt something so that it ends suddenly
• She broke the silence by coughing.
• A tree broke his fall (= stopped him as he was falling).
• The phone rang and broke my train of thought.
• Someone laughed suddenly and the spell was broken.
7. to make something end by using force or strong action
• an attempt to break the year-long siege
• Management has not succeeded in breaking the strike.
8. to end a connection with something or a relationship with somebody
• He broke all ties with his parents.
9. to manage to get away from or out of a position in which they have been caught
• He finally managed to break free from his attacker.
10. to destroy something or make somebody/something weaker; to become weak or be destroyed
• to break somebody’s morale/resistance/resolve/spirit
• The government was determined to break the power of the trade unions.
• The scandal broke him (= ruined his reputation and destroyed his confidence).
• She broke under questioning (= was no longer able to bear it) and confessed to everything.
11. to win a game in which it is your opponent's turn to serve (= hit the ball across the net first)
• Williams broke her opponent's serve five times.
12. to make somebody feel so sad, lonely, etc. that they cannot live a normal life
• The death of his wife broke him completely.
13. to change suddenly, usually after a period when it has been fine
• On the third day the weather broke and they had a violent storm.
14. to show an opening
• The clouds broke and the sun came out.
15. to come up through the surface of water in the sea, a pool, etc.
• When his head broke the surface he took in deep gulps of air.
16. when the day or dawn or a storm breaks, it begins
• SEE ALSO daybreak
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/daybreak
• Dawn was breaking when they finally left.
17. if a piece of news breaks, it becomes known
• There was a public outcry when the scandal broke.
• breaking news (= news that is arriving about events that have just happened)
18. to be the first to tell somebody some bad news
• Who's going to break it to her?
• I'm sorry to be the one to break the news to you.
• Just break the news to her gently.
19. if somebody’s voice breaks, it changes its tone because of emotion
• Her voice broke as she told us the dreadful news.
20. when a boy’s voice breaks, it becomes permanently deeper at about the age of 13 or 14
21. to do something better, faster, etc. than anyone has ever done it before
• She had broken the world 100 metres record.
• The movie broke all box-office records.
22. when waves break, they fall and are dissolved into foam, usually near land
• the sound of waves breaking on the beach
• The sea was breaking over the wrecked ship.
23. to find the meaning of something secret
• to break a code
24. to change a banknote for coins
• Can you break a twenty-dollar bill?

Word Origin

• Old English brecan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch breken and German brechen, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin frangere ‘to break’.