Meaning of "break" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD BREAK

Old English brecan; related to Old Frisian breka, Gothic brikan, Old High German brehhan, Latin frangere Sanskrit bhráj bursting forth.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF BREAK

break  [breɪk]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF BREAK

Break is a verb and can also act as a noun and an exclamation.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb break in English.

Exclamation is an expression or voice that reflects an emotion or exaltation.

WHAT DOES BREAK MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Break

Break may refer to: ▪ Recess, a general term for a period of time in which a group of people is temporarily dismissed from its duties ▪ Break, time off during a shift ▪ Coffee break, a daily social gathering for a snack and short downtime practiced by employees in business and industry ▪ Annual leave, paid time off work granted by employers to employees to be used for whatever the employee wishes ▪ Section break, in type setting ▪ Commercial break, in television and radio...

Definition of break in the English dictionary

The first definition of break in the dictionary is to separate or become separated into two or more pieces. Other definition of break is to damage or become damaged so as to be inoperative. Break is also to crack or become cracked without separating.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO BREAK

PRESENT

Present

I break

you break

he/she/it breaks

we break

you break

they break

Present continuous

I am breaking

you are breaking

he/she/it is breaking

we are breaking

you are breaking

they are breaking

Present perfect

I have broken

you have broken

he/she/it has broken

we have broken

you have broken

they have broken

Present perfect continuous

I have been breaking

you have been breaking

he/she/it has been breaking

we have been breaking

you have been breaking

they have been breaking

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I broke

you broke

he/she/it broke

we broke

you broke

they broke

Past continuous

I was breaking

you were breaking

he/she/it was breaking

we were breaking

you were breaking

they were breaking

Past perfect

I had broken

you had broken

he/she/it had broken

we had broken

you had broken

they had broken

Past perfect continuous

I had been breaking

you had been breaking

he/she/it had been breaking

we had been breaking

you had been breaking

they had been breaking

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will break

you will break

he/she/it will break

we will break

you will break

they will break

Future continuous

I will be breaking

you will be breaking

he/she/it will be breaking

we will be breaking

you will be breaking

they will be breaking

Future perfect

I will have broken

you will have broken

he/she/it will have broken

we will have broken

you will have broken

they will have broken

Future perfect continuous

I will have been breaking

you will have been breaking

he/she/it will have been breaking

we will have been breaking

you will have been breaking

they will have been breaking

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would break

you would break

he/she/it would break

we would break

you would break

they would break

Conditional continuous

I would be breaking

you would be breaking

he/she/it would be breaking

we would be breaking

you would be breaking

they would be breaking

Conditional perfect

I would have break

you would have break

he/she/it would have break

we would have break

you would have break

they would have break

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been breaking

you would have been breaking

he/she/it would have been breaking

we would have been breaking

you would have been breaking

they would have been breaking

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you break
we let´s break
you break

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to break

Past participle

broken

Present Participle

breaking

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «BREAK»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «break» and belong to the same grammatical category.

synonyms of break

abandon · advantage · alienation · alleviate · alter · announce · appear · awayday · bankrupt · batter · beat · better · breach · break down · breathing space · bring down · buffet · burst · cap · cease · cessation · chance · change · check · chink · cleft · come out · come out in the wash · conk out · contravene · cow · crack · cranny · crash · crevice · crush · cushion · cut · cut out · decipher · declare · decode · decrypt · defy · degrade · demolish · demoralize · demote · descramble · destroy · die · diminish · disaffection · disclose · discontinue · discontinuity · disintegrate · disobey · dispirit · dispute · disregard · disturb · disunion · divide · division · divulge · drop · ease · emerge · end · entr´acte · erupt · estrangement · exceed · excel · falter · fissure · flout · fortune · fracture · fragment · gap · gash · give out · give up · go phut · go wrong · halt · happen · have had it · hesitate · hiatus · hole · holiday · humiliate · impoverish · infract · infringe · interlude · intermission · interpret · interrupt · interruption · interstice · interval · kick · lash · leave · leave off · lessen · lessening · let-up · lighten · lull · moderate · occur · opening · opportunity · outdo · outstrip · pack in · pack up · pause · perforate · pound · proclaim · pull the plug on · puncture · quit · recess · reduce · remission · rent · respite · rest · reveal · rift · ruin · rupture · schism · schoolie · separate · separation · sever · severance · shake · shatter · shift · shiver · slackening · smash · snap · soften · solve · space · splinter · split · stammer · stop · stutter · subdue · surpass · suspend · suspension · tame · tear · tell · temper · terminate · time off · top · transgress · trash · tremble · undermine · unscramble · vacation · violate · waver · weaken · work out

TRANSLATION OF BREAK

Find out the translation of break to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of break from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «break» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 弄断
• Translator English - Spanish: fractura
• English: break
• Translator English - Hindi: तोड़
• Translator English - Arabic: كَسْر
• Translator English - Russian: перерыв
• Translator English - Portuguese: fratura
• Translator English - Bengali: বিরতি
• Translator English - French: cassure
• Translator English - Malay: Pecah
• Translator English - German: Bruch
• Translator English - Japanese: 破壊
• Translator English - Korean: 골절
• Translator English - Javanese: Break
• Translator English - Vietnamese: sự vỡ
• Translator English - Tamil: இடைவெளி
• Translator English - Marathi: ब्रेक
• Translator English - Turkish: kırılma
• Translator English - Italian: frattura
• Translator English - Polish: złamanie
• Translator English - Ukrainian: перелом
• Translator English - Romanian: ruptură
• Translator English - Greek: σπάσιμο
• Translator English - Afrikaans: breek
• Translator English - Swedish: rast
• Translator English - Norwegian: pause

10 QUOTES WITH «BREAK»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word break.

1

Shai Agassi

My passions were an intersection between peace in the Middle East and climate change. I know how to understand a technology problem, break it into its components and solve it. I also knew I couldn't make peace solely through technological inventions.

2

Manal al-Sharif

When women break that taboo and they're not afraid to drive that car by herself - that's it. Now she has the guts to speak up for herself and take action.

3

Catherine Bell

I started when I was in college because I was shy and thought it would be a good way to break out of that.

4

Dorothea Brande

All that is necessary to break the spell of inertia and frustration is this: Act as if it were impossible to fail. That is the talisman, the formula, the command of right about face which turns us from failure to success.

5

Rebekah Brooks

The quality of our journalism will make or break our industry, not the recession.

6

Lance Burton

I've worked nonstop for 31 years. I've counted down myself hundreds of cues for everything in each 90-minute show. I've never really taken an extended break, so I'd like to see what a vacation is really like.

7

Margaret Cavendish

And though my Lord hath lost his estate and been banished out of his country, yet neither despised poverty nor pinching necessity could make him break the bonds of friendship or weaken his loyal duty.

8

Kim Clijsters

I am happy to have played a match and break the rhythm of daily training.

9

Peter Coyote

When you break the rules and you win, you're a hero; when you lose, you're scurrilous.

10

Matt Drudge

There's nothing more exciting than to watch a story break and grow, and to be the first one to present it to the world.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «BREAK»

Discover the use of break in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to break and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

Break

This is the story of his self-destructive spiral, his rock-bottom moment, and how he finally learns to accept help and find true strength through recovery.

Hannah Moskowitz, 2009

The Break-up of Britain: Crisis and Neo-nationalism

In this 25th anniversary edition, Tom Nairn reviews the arguments of his classic study and expands his thesis into the new millennium.

Tom Nairn, 2003

Bend, Not Break: A Life in Two Worlds

Born on the eve of China’s Cultural Revolution, Ping Fu was separated from her family at the age of eight.

Ping Fu, Mei Mei Fox, 2012

First, Break All The Rules: What The Worlds Greatest ...

Explains how good managers can select, focus, motivate, and develop their employees in order to transform talent into performance

Marcus Buckingham, Curt Coffman, 1999

How to Break a Terrorist: The U.S. Interrogators Who Used ...

This account is an unputdownable thriller -- more of a psychological suspense story than a war memoir. And indeed, the story reaches far past the current conflict in Iraq with a reminder that we don't have to become our enemy to defeat him.

Matthew Alexander, John Bruning, 2008

Clean Break

'Jacqueline Wilson comes up trumps with this wonderful novel' Sunday Times 'Surely every girl aged between seven and eleven will require a copy' Evening Standard A charming book about real family life from prize-winning Jacqueline Wilson - ...

Jacqueline Wilson, 2008

Prison Break: The Classified FBI Files

A companion to the television drama finds Michael Scofield struggling to overturn the wrongful murder conviction of his brother before he is executed, an effort during which he formulates a plan involving his own foray into the criminal ...

Paul Ruditis, 2007

In the Break: The Aesthetics of the Black Radical Tradition

In the Break is the inaugural volume in Moten's ambitious intellectual project--to establish an aesthetic genealogy of the black radical tradition.

Fred Moten, 2003

Break Through: Why We Can't Leave Saving the Planet to ...

Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger triggered a firestorm with the publication of Break Through, contending that the politics that dealt with acid rain and smog can’t deal with global warming.The nations that ratified the Kyoto ...

Michael Shellenberger, Ted Nordhaus, 2009

Made to Break: Technology and Obsolescence in America

This book gives us a detailed and harrowing picture of how, by choosing to support ever-shorter product lives we may well be shortening the future of our way of life as well.

Giles Slade, 2009

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «BREAK»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term break is used in the context of the following news items.

Tunisia's beach shooter: the path from break dancing to terrorism

When old video footage emerged of Seifeddine Rezgui, the Tunisia beach killer, break dancing, many asked what could have turned a cheerful ... «Telegraph.co.uk, Jul 15»

Laverty eyes points before break

After the next race in Germany at the Sachsenring over the weekend, the summer break kicks in and there will be no racing until August 9 at ... «SuperSport, Jul 15»

How to break up with a friend

Friendship is complicated. Sometimes it's based on compatibility, common interests, and shared goals and values. Sometimes friendship is ... «The Week Magazine, Jul 15»

The blame for that prison break goes all the way to the top

Both were able to break out of the back of their cells and sneak through a series of catwalks and tunnels before surfacing on the streets of ... «New York Post, Jul 15»

Kim Kardashian ignores Kourtney and Scott's 'break-up' as she …

Kim Kardashian is yet to address claims her sister Kourtney has ended her nine year relationship with Scott Disick, as the family continue their ... «Mirror.co.uk, Jul 15»

Gillian Anderson enjoys break from The X Files at London's Chiltern …

And, true to form, actress Gillian Anderson was dressed to impress when she dined out at London's celebrity hot-spot, the Chiltern Firehouse, ... «Daily Mail, Jul 15»

Advocate sticker on vehicle not a licence to break road rules …

The sticker can hardly be a licence to break law, including traffic rules or not wearing helmets or, for that matter, breach of any other law. All are ... «Times of India, Jul 15»

Break disrupts water service

A water line break caused millions of gallons of water to spill out from McAlester service lines Sunday night, leaving city residents and some ... «Mcalester News Capital, Jul 15»

Pugilism With Racquets -- Kevin Mitchell Delivers an Ace With Break …

In Break Point, Kevin Mitchell weaves around the evolution of modern tennis. He differentiates between the changing era of the sport and ... «NDTVSports.com, Jul 15»

I took break for marriage, ready to be back: Drashti Dhami

Newly married TV actor Drashti Dhami has enjoyed her 11-month break from work, and soon will return to the small screen with a new serial. «Hindustan Times, Jul 15»