• an escape from jail; "the Breakout was carefully planned"
• any frame in which a bowler fails to make a strike or spare; "the Break in the eighth frame cost him the match"
• a sudden dash; "he made a Break for the open door"
• the act of Breaking something; "the Breakage was unavoidable"
• an act of delaying or interrupting the continuity; "it was presented without commercial Breaks"
• (tennis) a score consisting of winning a game when your opponent was serving; "he was up two Breaks in the second set"
• the opening shot that scatters the balls in billiards or pool
• a pause from doing something (as work); "we took a 10-minute Break"; "he took time out to recuperate"
• a personal or social separation (as between opposing factions); "they hoped to avoid a Break in relations"
• an unexpected piece of good luck; "he finally got his big Break"
• the occurrence of Breaking; "the Break in the dam threatened the valley"
• some abrupt occurrence that interrupts; "the telephone is an annoying interruption"; "there was a Break in the action when a player was hurt"
• (geology) a crack in the earth''s crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other; "they built it right over a geological fault"
• Breaking of hard tissue such as bone; "it was a nasty fracture"; "the Break seems to have been caused by a fall"
• a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
• weaken or destroy in spirit or body; "His resistance was broken"; "a man broken by the terrible experience of near-death"
• diminish or discontinue abruptly; "The patient''s fever broke last night"
• fracture a bone of; "I broke my foot while playing hockey"
• fall sharply; "stock prices broke"
• make submissive, obedient, or useful; "The horse was tough to Break"; "I broke in the new intern"
• be broken in; "If the new teacher won''t Break, we''ll add some stress"
• of the male voice in puberty; "his voice is Breaking--he should no longer sing in the choir"
• render inoperable or ineffective; "You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!"
• become separated into pieces or fragments; "The figurine broke"; "The freshly baked loaf fell apart"
• destroy the integrity of; usually by force; cause to separate into pieces or fragments; "He broke the glass plate"; "She broke the match"
• become fractured; Break or crack on the surface only; "The glass cracked when it was heated"
• happen; "Report the news as it develops"; "These political movements recrudesce from time to time"
• prevent completion; "stop the project"; "Break off the negociations"
• terminate; "She interrupted her pregnancy"; "Break a lucky streak"; "Break the cycle of poverty"
• lessen in force or effect; "soften a shock"; "Break a fall"
• stop operating or functioning; "The engine finally went"; "The car died on the road"; "The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town"; "The coffee maker broke"; "The engine failed on the way to town"; "her eyesight went after the accident"
• change suddenly from one tone quality or register to another; "Her voice broke to a whisper when she started to talk about her children"
• come into being; "light broke over the horizon"; "Voices broke in the air"
• find the solution or key to; "Break the code"
• find a flaw in; "Break an alibi"; "Break down a proof"
• undergo Breaking; "The simple vowels broke in many Germanic languages"
• interrupt the flow of current in; "Break a circuit"
• cease an action temporarily; "We pause for station identification"; "let''s Break for lunch"
• make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret; "The auction house would not disclose the price at which the van Gogh had sold"; "The actress won''t reveal how old she is"; "bring
• be released or become known; of news; "News of her death broke in the morning"
• surpass in excellence; "She bettered her own record"; "Break a record"
• pierce or penetrate; "The blade broke her skin"
• become punctured or penetrated; "The skin broke"
• Break a piece from a whole; "Break a branch from a tree"
• go to pieces; "The lawn mower finally broke"; "The gears wore out"; "The old chair finally fell apart completely"
• ruin completely; "He busted my radio!"
• separate from a clinch, in boxing; "The referee broke the boxers"
• make the opening shot that scatters the balls
• destroy the completeness of a set of related items; "The book dealer would not Break the set"
• exchange for smaller units of money; "I had to Break a $100 bill just to buy the candy"
• force out or release suddenly and often violently something pent up; "Break into tears"; "erupt in anger"
• do a Break dance; "Kids were Break-dancing at the street corner"
• curl over and fall apart in surf or foam, of waves; "The surf broke"
• Break down, literally or metaphorically; "The wall collapsed"; "The business collapsed"; "The dam broke"; "The roof collapsed"; "The wall gave in"; "The roof finally gave under the weight of the ice"
• emerge from the surface of a body of water; "The whales broke"
• scatter or part; "The clouds broke after the heavy downpour"
• make a rupture in the ranks of the enemy or one''s own by quitting or fleeing; "The ranks broke"
• move away or escape suddenly; "The horses broke from the stable"; "Three inmates broke jail"; "Nobody can Break out--this prison is high security"
• change directions suddenly
• reduce to bankruptcy; "My daughter''s fancy wedding is going to Break me!"; "The slump in the financial markets smashed him"
• assign to a lower position; reduce in rank; "She was demoted because she always speaks up"; "He was broken down to Sargeant"
• discontinue an association or relation; go different ways; "The business partners broke over a tax question"; "The couple separated after 25 years of marriage"; "My friend and I split up"
• invalidate by judicial action; "The will was broken"
• interrupt a continued activity; "She had broken with the traditional patterns"
• cause the failure or ruin of; "His peccadilloes finally broke his marriage"; "This play will either make or Break the playwright"
• act in disregard of laws and rules; "offend all laws of humanity"; "violate the basic laws or human civilization"; "Break a law"
• enter someone''s property in an unauthorized manner, usually with the intent to steal or commit a violent act; "Someone broke in while I was on vacation"; "They broke into my car and stole my radio!"
• happen or take place; "Things have been Breaking pretty well for us in the past few months"
• come forth or begin from a state of latency; "The first winter storm broke over New York"
• fail to agree with; be in violation of; as of rules or patterns; "This sentence violates the rules of syntax"
• give up; "Break cigarette smoking"
• cause to give up a habit; "She finally broke herself of smoking cigarettes"
• vary or interrupt a uniformity or continuity; "The flat plain was broken by tall mesas"
• come to an end; "The heat wave finally broke yesterday"

'Break' in other languages