What does break mean?

Looking for the meaning or definition of the word break? Here's what it means.

Verb

(transitive, intransitive) To separate into two or more pieces, to fracture or crack, by a process that cannot easily be reversed for reassembly.

(transitive, intransitive) To crack or fracture (bone) under a physical strain.

(transitive) To divide (something, often money) into smaller units.
(transitive) To cause (a person or animal) to lose spirit or will; to crush the spirits of.
(intransitive) To be crushed, or overwhelmed with sorrow or grief.
(transitive) To interrupt; to destroy the continuity of; to dissolve or terminate.
(transitive) To ruin financially.
(transitive) To violate, to not adhere to.
(intransitive, of a fever) To pass the most dangerous part of the illness; to go down, in terms of temperature.
(intransitive, of a storm or spell of weather) To end.
(transitive, gaming slang) To design or use a powerful (yet legal) strategy that unbalances the game in a player's favor.
(transitive, intransitive) To stop, or to cause to stop, functioning properly or altogether.

(programming) To cause (some feature of a program or piece of software) to stop functioning properly; to cause a regression.

(specifically) To cause the shell of (an egg) to crack, so that the inside (yolk) is accessible.
(specifically) To open (a safe) without using the correct key, combination, or the like.

(transitive) To destroy the arrangement of; to throw into disorder; to pierce.
(intransitive, of a wave of water) To collapse into surf, after arriving in shallow water.
(intransitive) To burst forth; to make its way; to come into view.
(intransitive) To interrupt or cease one's work or occupation temporarily.
(transitive) To interrupt (a fall) by inserting something so that the falling object does not (immediately) hit something else beneath.
(transitive, ergative) To disclose or make known an item of news, etc.
(intransitive, of morning) To arrive.
(sound) To become audible suddenly.
(transitive) To change a steady state abruptly.
(copular verb) To suddenly become.
(intransitive) Of a voice, to alter in type: in men generally to go up, in women sometimes to go down; to crack.
(transitive) To surpass or do better than (a specific number), to do better than (a record), setting a new record.
(sports and games):

(transitive, tennis) To win a game (against one's opponent) as receiver.
(intransitive, billiards, snooker, pool) To make the first shot; to scatter the balls from the initial neat arrangement.
(transitive, backgammon) To remove one of the two men on (a point).

(transitive, military, most often in the passive tense) To demote, to reduce the military rank of.
(transitive) To end (a connection), to disconnect.
(emulsion) To demulsify.
(intransitive, sports) To counter-attack
(transitive, obsolete) To lay open, as a purpose; to disclose, divulge, or communicate.
(intransitive) To become weakened in constitution or faculties; to lose health or strength.
(intransitive, obsolete) To fail in business; to become bankrupt.
(transitive) To destroy the strength, firmness, or consistency of.
(transitive) To destroy the official character and standing of; to cashier; to dismiss.
(intransitive) To make an abrupt or sudden change; to change the gait.
(intransitive, archaic) To fall out; to terminate friendship.
(of a horse) To tame, to horsebreak.

Noun

An instance of breaking something into two pieces.
A physical space that opens up in something or between two things.
A rest or pause, usually from work. Often the mid-morning breaktime in the school day.
A short holiday.
A temporary split with a romantic partner.
An interval or intermission between two parts of a performance, for example a theatre show, broadcast, or sports game.
A significant change in circumstance, attitude, perception, or focus of attention.
The beginning (of the morning).
An act of escaping.
(computing) The separation between lines or paragraphs of a written text.
(Britain, weather) A change, particularly the end of a spell of persistent good or bad weather.
(sports and games):

(tennis) A game won by the receiving player(s).
(billiards, snooker, pool) The first shot in a game of billiards
(snooker) The number of points scored by one player in one visit to the table
(soccer) The counter-attack
(surfing) A place where waves break (that is, where waves pitch or spill forward creating white water).

(dated) A large four-wheeled carriage, having a straight body and calash top, with the driver's seat in front and the footman's behind.
(equitation) A sharp bit or snaffle.
(music) A short section of music, often between verses, in which some performers stop while others continue.
(music) 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.

Noun

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

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