Breaks

1. An instance of breaking something into two or more pieces.

   The femur has a clean break and so should heal easily.

2. A physical space that opens up in something or between two things.

   He waited minutes for a break in the traffic to cross the highway.

3. A rest or pause, usually from work.

   Let’s take a five-minute break.

4. A time for students to talk or play.
5. A short holiday.

   a weekend break on the Isle of Wight

6. A temporary split with a romantic partner.

   I think we need a break.

7. An interval or intermission between two parts of a performance, for example a theatre show, broadcast, or sports game.
8. A significant change in circumstance, attitude, perception, or focus of attention.

   big break

9. The beginning (of the morning).

   at the break of day

10. An act of escaping.

    It was a clean break.

11. The separation between lines, paragraphs or pages of a written text.
12. A keystroke or other signal that causes a program to terminate or suspend execution.
13. A point or condition in a program at which operation may be suspended during debugging so that the state of the program at that point can be investigated. A breakpoint.
14. A change, particularly the end of a spell of persistent good or bad weather.
15. :
16. A large four-wheeled carriage, having a straight body and calash top, with the driver's seat in front and the footman's behind.
17. (equitation) A sharp bit or snaffle.
18. A short section of music, often between verses, in which some performers stop while others continue.

    The fiddle break was amazing; it was a pity the singer came back in on the wrong note.

19. The point in the musical scale at which a woodwind instrument is designed to overblow, that is, to move from its lower to its upper register.

    Crossing the break smoothly is one of the first lessons the young clarinettist needs to master.

20. Usu. plural An area along a river that features steep banks, bluffs, or gorges (e.g., Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, US).

noun

A section of extended repetition of the percussion break to a song, created by a hip-hop DJ as rhythmic dance music.

1. To 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. To divide (something, often money) into smaller units.

   Can you break a hundred-dollar bill for me?

3. To cause (a person or animal) to lose spirit or will; to crush the spirits of.

   Her child's death broke Angela.

4. To be crushed, or overwhelmed with sorrow or grief.

   My heart is breaking.

5. To 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. To ruin financially.

   The recession broke some small businesses.

7. To violate, to not adhere to.

   He broke his vows by cheating on his wife.

8. (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. (of a spell of settled weather) To end.

   The forecast says the hot weather will break by midweek.

10. (of a storm) To begin; to end.

    Around midday the storm broke, and the afternoon was calm and sunny.

11. (of morning, dawn, day etc.) To arrive.

    Morning has broken.

12. To 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. To stop, or to cause to stop, functioning properly or altogether.

    Did you two break the trolley by racing with it?

14. To cause (a barrier) to no longer bar.

    break a seal

15. To destroy the arrangement of; to throw into disorder; to pierce.

    The cavalry were not able to break the British squares.

16. (of a wave of water) To collapse into surf, after arriving in shallow water.
17. To burst forth; to make its way; to come into view.
18. To interrupt or cease one's work or occupation temporarily.

    Let's break for lunch.

19. To 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. To 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. (of a sound) To become audible suddenly.
22. To change a steady state abruptly.

    His coughing broke the silence.

23. To suddenly become.

    The arrest was standard, when suddenly the suspect broke ugly.

24. Of a male voice, to become deeper at puberty.
25. Of 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. To 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. :
28. (most often in the passive tense) To demote, to reduce the military rank of.
29. To end (a connection), to disconnect.

    I couldn't hear a thing he was saying, so I broke the connection and called him back.

30. (of an emulsion) To demulsify.
31. To counter-attack
32. To lay open, as a purpose; to disclose, divulge, or communicate.
33. To become weakened in constitution or faculties; to lose health or strength.
34. To fail in business; to become bankrupt.
35. To destroy the strength, firmness, or consistency of.

    to break flax

36. To destroy the official character and standing of; to cashier; to dismiss.
37. To make an abrupt or sudden change; to change the gait.

    to break into a run or gallop

38. To fall out; to terminate friendship.
39. To terminate the execution of a program before normal completion.
40. To suspend the execution of a program during debugging so that the state of the program can be investigated.