Definitions
1.verbTo separate into two or more pieces, to fracture or crack, by a process that cannot easily be reversed for reassembly."If the vase falls to the floor, it might break."
2.verbTo divide (something, often money) into smaller units."Can you break a hundred-dollar bill for me?"
3.verbTo cause (a person or animal) to lose spirit or will; to crush the spirits of."Her child's death broke Angela."
4.verbTo be crushed, or overwhelmed with sorrow or grief."My heart is breaking."
5.verbTo interrupt; to destroy the continuity of; to dissolve or terminate."I had won four games in a row, but now you've broken my streak of luck."
6.verbTo ruin financially."The recession broke some small businesses."
7.verbTo violate, to not adhere to."He broke his vows by cheating on his wife."
8.verb(of a fever) To pass the most dangerous part of the illness; to go down, in terms of temperature."Susan's fever broke at about 3 AM, and the doctor said the worst was over."
9.verb(of a spell of settled weather) To end."The forecast says the hot weather will break by midweek."
10.verb(of a storm) To begin; to end."Around midday the storm broke, and the afternoon was calm and sunny."
11.verb(of morning, dawn, day etc.) To arrive."Morning has broken."
12.verbTo render (a game) unchallenging by altering its rules or exploiting loopholes or weaknesses in them in a way that gives a player an unfair advantage."Changing the rules to let white have three extra queens would break chess."
13.verbTo stop, or to cause to stop, functioning properly or altogether."Did you two break the trolley by racing with it?"
14.verbTo cause (a barrier) to no longer bar."break a seal"
15.verbTo destroy the arrangement of; to throw into disorder; to pierce."The cavalry were not able to break the British squares."
16.verb(of a wave of water) To collapse into surf, after arriving in shallow water.
17.verbTo burst forth; to make its way; to come into view.
18.verbTo interrupt or cease one's work or occupation temporarily."Let's break for lunch."
19.verbTo interrupt (a fall) by inserting something so that the falling object does not (immediately) hit something else beneath."He survived the jump out the window because the bushes below broke his fall."
20.verbTo disclose or make known an item of news, etc."I don't know how to break this to you, but your cat is not coming back."
21.verb(of a sound) To become audible suddenly.
22.verbTo change a steady state abruptly."His coughing broke the silence."
23.verbTo suddenly become."The arrest was standard, when suddenly the suspect broke ugly."
24.verbOf a male voice, to become deeper at puberty.
25.verbOf a voice, to alter in type due to emotion or strain: in men generally to go up, in women sometimes to go down; to crack."His voice breaks when he gets emotional."
26.verbTo surpass or do better than (a specific number), to do better than (a record), setting a new record."He broke the men's 100-meter record."
27.verb:
28.verb(most often in the passive tense) To demote, to reduce the military rank of.
29.verbTo end (a connection), to disconnect."I couldn't hear a thing he was saying, so I broke the connection and called him back."
30.verb(of an emulsion) To demulsify.
31.verbTo counter-attack
32.verbTo lay open, as a purpose; to disclose, divulge, or communicate.
33.verbTo become weakened in constitution or faculties; to lose health or strength.
34.verbTo fail in business; to become bankrupt.
35.verbTo destroy the strength, firmness, or consistency of."to break flax"
36.verbTo destroy the official character and standing of; to cashier; to dismiss.
37.verbTo make an abrupt or sudden change; to change the gait."to break into a run or gallop"
38.verbTo fall out; to terminate friendship.
39.verbTo terminate the execution of a program before normal completion.
40.verbTo suspend the execution of a program during debugging so that the state of the program can be investigated.
41.adjectiveFragmented, in separate pieces.
42.adjective(of a promise, etc) Breached; violated; not kept."broken promises of neutrality"
43.adjectiveNon-functional; not functioning properly."I think my doorbell is broken."
44.adjective(of a person) Completely defeated and dispirited; shattered; destroyed."The bankruptcy and divorce, together with the death of his son, left him completely broken."
45.adjectiveHaving no money; bankrupt, broke.
46.adjective(of land) Uneven.
47.adjective(of a tactic or option) Overpowered; overly powerful; too powerful.