Meaning & use
break
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To come apart or make something come apart into pieces, because of force or damage.
Grammar: Can take an object: he broke the plate. Can be used alone: the plate broke.
Patterns
- break something
- break into pieces
- break in two
She dropped the glass and it broke into tiny pieces.
He broke his arm while skiing.
The old rope finally broke under the weight.
verbtransitive
To fail to follow a rule, law or promise.
Grammar: Takes an object: break a promise, break the law.
Patterns
- break the law
- break a promise
- break a rule
Drivers who break the speed limit may lose their license.
He promised to call and then broke his word.
The company broke the contract by paying late.
verbtransitive or intransitive
To stop an activity for a short time, or to interrupt something that is continuing.
Grammar: Can take an object: break the silence. Can be used alone: we broke for lunch.
Patterns
- break for something
- break the silence
- break a journey
We broke for lunch at noon and went back at one.
A loud knock broke the silence in the room.
They broke their long drive with a night in a small hotel.
nouncountable
A short period of rest from work, study or another activity.
Grammar: Often used with take, have or need: take a break.
Patterns
- take a break from something
- a lunch break
- a break between something
Let's take a short break and have some coffee.
The students have a ten-minute break between classes.
She needed a break from her busy job.
nouncountableinformal
A chance or piece of luck, especially one that helps someone succeed.
Grammar: Often with lucky, big or good: a lucky break.
Patterns
- a lucky break
- get a break
- give someone a break
Getting that first acting role was a big break for her.
He finally caught a lucky break when a customer recommended his shop.
Give me a break, I only started this job yesterday.
nouncountable
A gap, crack or place where something has come apart or been interrupted.
Grammar: Used for physical gaps or interruptions: a break in the clouds.
Patterns
- a break in something
- a clean break
The doctor said it was a clean break in the bone.
There was a break in the clouds and the sun came out.
Police found a break in the fence near the road.
Word forms
| third person singular | breaks |
|---|---|
| past tense | broke |
| past participle | broken |
| -ing form | breaking |
| plural | breaks |
Common combinations
- break the law
- Anyone who breaks the law may be fined.
- break a promise
- She hated to break a promise to her child.
- take a break
- You should take a break and stretch your legs.
- break the ice
- A joke helped break the ice at the start of the meeting.
- break the news
- He had to break the news to his family gently.
- lucky break
- Meeting that producer was a lucky break for the young singer.
Synonyms and how they differ
- smash
- This means to break violently and noisily into many pieces, while break is more general and can be a crack or snap.
- shatter
- This stresses breaking suddenly into many small sharp pieces, while break can be one clean split.
- pause
- This means a short stop and can be used for speech or action, while break often means a longer rest from work.
- violate
- This is more formal than break when speaking of a law, rule or agreement.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: break or brake? break or broke?
break vs brake
Brake means to slow a vehicle or the device that does so; it sounds the same as break but is spelled differently.
break vs broke
Broke is the past tense of break and also an informal adjective meaning having no money, whereas broken is the past participle and the adjective for damaged things.
Practice
We have been working for three hours, so let's ___ for ten minutes and have some tea.
Choose one answer.
After let's, the base form break is needed. Brake sounds the same but means to slow a vehicle, broke is the past tense, and breaking does not follow let's.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “break”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.