Word Definitions & Examples
verb
Sense 1
come to an end
"The heat wave finally broke yesterday"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s
verb
Sense 3
"He busted my radio!"
Kinds of:
break down
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
Somebody ----s somebody PP
verb
Sense 4
go to pieces
"The lawn mower finally broke"
"The gears wore out"
"The old chair finally fell apart completely"
Derived:
wear
Verb group:
bust
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s
verb
Sense 5
"break a branch from a tree"
Type of:
detach
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
verb
Sense 7
"The blade broke her skin"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody PP
verb
Sense 8
"News of her death broke in the morning"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s
verb
Sense 9
"His peccadilloes finally broke his marriage"
"This play will either make or break the playwright"
Opposites:
make
Type of:
ruin
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
Somebody ----s somebody PP
verb
Sense 10
"break a circuit"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
Somebody ----s somebody PP
verb
Sense 11
"The simple vowels broke in many Germanic languages"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s
verb
Sense 12
"break an alibi"
"break down a proof"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
Somebody ----s somebody PP
verb
Sense 13
"break the code"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
verb
Sense 14
"light broke over the horizon"
"Voices broke in the air"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s
verb
Sense 15
"The book dealer would not break the set"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
verb
Sense 16
"I had to break a $100 bill just to buy the candy"
Verb group:
break up
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
verb
Sense 17
"break into tears"
"erupt in anger"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s something with something
verb
Sense 18
"The flat plain was broken by tall mesas"
Derived:
interruption
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody PP
verb
Sense 19
"She finally broke herself of smoking cigarettes"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s something with something
verb
Sense 20
give up
"break cigarette smoking"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
verb
Sense 21
"The first winter storm broke over New York"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s something to somebody
verb
Sense 22
"Things have been breaking pretty well for us in the past few months"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s
Domain:
colloquialism
verb
Sense 23
"She had broken with the traditional patterns"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s something to somebody
Somebody ----s something with something
verb
Sense 24
"The will was broken"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
verb
Sense 25
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
verb
Sense 26
"The horses broke from the stable"
"Three inmates broke jail"
"Nobody can break out--this prison is high security"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something to somebody
Somebody ----s something with something
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
verb
Sense 27
"The ranks broke"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
verb
Sense 28
"The clouds broke after the heavy downpour"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s
verb
Sense 30
"The surf broke"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s
verb
Sense 31
"Her voice broke to a whisper when she started to talk about her children"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s
verb
Sense 32
"You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!"
Type of:
damage
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
Somebody ----s somebody PP
verb
Sense 33
be broken in
"If the new teacher won''t break, we''ll add some stress"
Type of:
change
Verb group:
break in
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s something
verb
Sense 35
"stock prices broke"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s
noun
Sense 36
"he finally got his big break"
verb
Sense 37
"The patient''s fever broke last night"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s
verb
Sense 38
"His resistance was broken"
"a man broken by the terrible experience of near-death"
Type of:
weaken
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s on something
noun
Sense 39
noun
Sense 40
the occurrence of breaking
"the break in the dam threatened the valley"
Kinds of:
snap
verb
Sense 41
"his voice is breaking--he should no longer sing in the choir"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s
verb
Sense 42
"Report the news as it develops"
"These political movements recrudesce from time to time"
Verb group:
develop
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s
verb
Sense 44
"The figurine broke"
"The freshly baked loaf fell apart"
Type of:
change integrity
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s
noun
Sense 45
"the breakout was carefully planned"
verb
Sense 46
"He broke the glass plate"
"She broke the match"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
Somebody ----s somebody PP
noun
Sense 47
"it was presented without commercial breaks"
verb
Sense 48
"The referee broke the boxers"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s something with something
verb
Sense 49
"stop the project"
"break off the negociations"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
Somebody ----s somebody PP
verb
Sense 50
"I broke my foot while playing hockey"
Verb group:
fracture
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
verb
Sense 51
"She interrupted her pregnancy"
"break a lucky streak"
"break the cycle of poverty"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
Somebody ----s somebody PP
verb
Sense 53
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!"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
Somebody ----s something with something
Somebody ----s something
noun
Sense 55
"the telephone is an annoying interruption"
"there was a break in the action when a player was hurt"
verb
Sense 56
"She bettered her own record"
"break a record"
Derived:
better
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
noun
Sense 57
"it was a nasty fracture"
"the break seems to have been caused by a fall"
verb
Sense 58
"The horse was tough to break"
"I broke in the new intern"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
Somebody ----s something with something
noun
Sense 59
verb
Sense 60
"The glass cracked when it was heated"
Type of:
change
Kinds of:
crack
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s
verb
Sense 61
"Kids were break-dancing at the street corner"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s something
noun
Sense 62
"we took a 10-minute break"
"he took time out to recuperate"
Type of:
pause
Kinds of:
spring break
verb
Sense 63
"This sentence violates the rules of syntax"
Opposites:
conform to
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
Somebody ----s somebody PP
verb
Sense 64
reduce to bankruptcy
"My daughter''s fancy wedding is going to break me!"
"The slump in the financial markets smashed him"
Type of:
impoverish
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s something with something
Somebody ----s on something
noun
Sense 65
"they hoped to avoid a break in relations"
verb
Sense 66
"We pause for station identification"
"let''s break for lunch"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s something
verb
Sense 67
"She was demoted because she always speaks up"
"He was broken down to Sargeant"
Kinds of:
reduce
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s something with something
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
noun
Sense 68
(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"
Domain:
geology
verb
Sense 69
"The business partners broke over a tax question"
"The couple separated after 25 years of marriage"
"My friend and I split up"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s something
verb
Sense 70
"soften a shock"
"break a fall"
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
Somebody ----s somebody PP
verb
Sense 71
"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"
Type of:
change
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
verb
Sense 72
"offend all laws of humanity"
"violate the basic laws or human civilization"
"break a law"
Type of:
disrespect
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
verb
Sense 73
"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"
Type of:
change
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s
verb
Sense 74
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"
Type of:
tell
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
Somebody ----s somebody PP
Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE
Something ----s somebody
Semantic Complexity
100%
Sense Count
74
Total Synonyms
0
Total Relationships
456
Times Searched
4
Relationship Distribution
Word Relationship Graph
Synonyms
Antonyms
Hypernyms
Hyponyms