transitive verb broke, broken bro′·ken, breaking break′·ing

1. to cause to come apart by force; split or crack sharply into pieces; smash; burst
2. 1. to cut open the surface of (soil, the skin, etc.)
   2. to fracture a bone of
3. to cause the failure of by force or extralegal measures to break a strike
4. to make unusable or inoperative by cracking, disrupting, etc.
5. to tame or make obedient with or as with force
6. 1. to cause to get rid (of a habit)
   2. to get rid of (a habit)
7. to lower in rank or grade; demote
8. 1. to reduce to poverty or bankruptcy
   2. to ruin the chance for success of
   3. to wreck the health, spirit, etc. of
9. to surpass (a record)
10. to fail to follow the terms of (a law, promise, agreement, etc.); violate
11. 1. to open or enter by force: now chiefly in break and enter
    2. to escape from by force to break prison
12. to disrupt the order or completeness of; make irregular the troops broke formation and ran
13. to interrupt (a journey, electric circuit, etc.)
14. to reduce the force of by interrupting (a fall, the wind, etc.)
15. to bring to a sudden end to break a tie
16. 1. to make or create (a path, way, etc.) as by removing obstructions
    2. to cut through or penetrate (silence, darkness, etc.)
17. to make known; tell; disclose
18. 1. to decipher to break a code
    2. to succeed in solving to break a criminal case
19. to make (a will) invalid by legal process
20. to prove (an alibi) to be false
21. to begin; open; start
22. to exchange (a bill or coin) for smaller units
23. to open (a rifle or shotgun) at the breech
24. Tennis to win a game from (an opponent who is serving)

Etymology: ME breken < OE brecan < IE base *bhreg- > breach, breech, Ger brechen, L frangere

intransitive verb

1. to split into pieces; come apart; burst
2. to scatter; disperse to break and run
3. to force one's way (through obstacles or resistance)
4. to quarrel; stop associating (with)
5. to become unusable or inoperative; go out of order
6. to suffer a sudden fall in prices, financial condition, etc.
7. to change suddenly, as by a sharp rise, fall, turn, shift, etc. his voice broke; the hot spell broke
8. 1. to move away suddenly the base runner broke for second
   2. to move apart, or withdraw, from a clinch in boxing
9. ☆ to move into a gait other than the trot or pace required: said of a horse in harness racing
10. to begin suddenly to utter, perform, etc.: with into, forth in, or out in to break into song
11. to come suddenly into being, evidence, or general knowledge day was breaking; the story broke
12. to appear suddenly above water, as a periscope, fish, etc.
13. ☆ to stop activity temporarily we broke for lunch
14. 1. to fall apart slowly; disintegrate
    2. to dash apart, as a wave on the shore
15. to suffer a collapse of health, vitality, spirit, etc.
16. to change into a diphthong: said of vowels
17. ☆ to curve, dip, or rise near the plate: said of a pitched baseball
18. ☆ to begin a game of pocket billiards with a break ()
19. Informal to happen in a certain way things were breaking badly

noun

1. a breaking open or apart; breach; fracture
2. 1. a breaking in, out, or forth
   2. ☆ a sudden move away or toward; rush; dash
3. the result of a breaking; broken place; separation; crack
4. a beginning or appearance the break of day
5. an interruption of a regular or continuous arrangement, action, etc.
6. the result of this; a gap, interval, pause, omission, rest, etc.
7. a breach in friendly relations
8. a sudden change, as in weather
9. ☆ an escape, as from prison
10. ☆ a sudden lowering or drop, as of prices
11. an imperfection; flaw
12. an unbroken series or sequence, as of points in billiards
13. ☆ the opening shot in a game of pocket billiards, in which the cue ball must come into contact with at least one ball in the rack; often, a shot that scatters the racked balls
14. ☆ Basketball fast break
15. ☆
    1. a piece of luck, often specif. of good luck
    2. an advantage or opportunity
    3. exceptional or favorable treatment
16. Music
    1. the point where one register changes to another
    2. the abrupt change in quality of a voice or instrument at this point
    3. in jazz, a brief, usually improvised passage by one band member who continues to play while the others stop
17. Printing
    1. a space between paragraphs
    2. the place at which a column or page of text stops, to be continued as on another column or page
    3. a point at which a word is divided, as at the end of a line