Break

Definition: Break

Break

Noun

1. Some abrupt occurrence that interrupts; "the telephone is an annoying interruption"; "there was a break in the action when a player was hurt".

2. An unexpected piece of good luck; "he finally got his big break".

3. (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".

4. A personal or social separation (as between opposing factions); "they hoped to avoid a break in relations".

5. A pause from doing something (as work); "we took a 10-minute break"; "he took time out to recuperate".

6. The act of breaking something; "the breakage was unavoidable".

7. A time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something.

8. Breaking of hard tissue such as bone; "it was a nasty fracture"; "the break seems to have been caused by a fall".

9. The occurrence of breaking; "the break in the dam threatened the valley".

10. : the opening shot that scatters the balls in billiards or pool.

11. : (tennis) a score consisting of winning a game when your opponent was serving; "he was up two breaks in the second set".

12. : an act of delaying or interrupting the continuity; "it was presented without commercial breaks".

13. : a sudden dash; "he made a break for the open door".

14. : any frame in which a bowler fails to make a strike or spare; "the break in the eighth frame cost him the match".

15. : an escape from jail; "the breakout was carefully planned".

Verb

1. End prematurely; "She interrupted her pregnancy"; "break a lucky streak".

2. Become separated into pieces or fragments; "The figurine broke"; "The freshly baked loaf fell apart".

3. Destroy the integrity of; usually by force; cause to separate into pieces or fragments; "He broke the glass plate"; "She broke the match".

4. Render inoperable or ineffective; "You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!".

5. Ruin completely; "He busted my radio!".

6. Act in disregard of laws and rules; "offend all laws of humanity"; "violate the basic laws or human civilization"; "break a law".

7. Move away or escape suddenly; "The horses broke from the stable"; "Three inmates broke jail".

8. Scatter or part; "The clouds broke after the heavy downpour".

9. Force out or release suddenly and often violently something pent up; "break into tears"; "erupt in anger".

10. : prevent completion; "stop the project"; "break the silence".

11. : 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!".

12. : make submissive, obedient, or useful, as of wild animals or new items: "The horse was tough to break"; used metaphorically for people.

13. : fail to agree with; be in violation of; as of rules or patterns; "He violated the agreement to stay away from his ex-wife"; "You are breaking the law!".

14. : surpass in excellence; "She bettered her own record"; "break a record".

15. : 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 out the truth"; "he broke the news to her".

16. : come into being; "light broke over the horizon"; "Voices broke in the air".

17. : stop operating or functioning; "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".

18. : interrupt a continued activity; "She had broken with the traditional patterns".

19. : make a rupture in the ranks of the enemy or one's own by quitting or fleeing (military usage); "The ranks broke".

20. : curl over and fall apart in surf or foam, of waves; "The surf broke".

21. : lessen in force or effect; "soften a shock"; "break a fall".

22. : be broken in; "If the new teacher won't break, we'll add some stress".

23. : come to an end; "The heat wave finally broke yesterday".

24. : vary or interrupt a uniformity or continuity; "The flat plain was broken by sharply mesas".

25. : cause to give up a habit; "She finally broke herself of smoking cigarettes".

26. : give up: "break cigarette smoking".

27. : come forth or begin from a state of latency; "The first winter storm broke over New York".

28. : happen or take place; "Things have been breaking pretty well for us in the past few months" (informal).

29. : cause the failure or ruin of; "His peccadilloes finally broke his marriage"; "This play will either make or break the playwright".

30. : invalidate by judicial action; "The will was broken".

31. : stop or interrupt; "He broke the engagement"; "We had to break our plans for a trip to China".

32. : divide into pieces, as by bending or cutting; "break the loaf of bread"; "break the crackers".

33. : discontinue an association or relation; go different ways; "The business partners broke over a tax question"; "The couple separated after 25 years of marriage"; "My friend and I split up".

34. : assign to a lower position; reduce in rank; "She was demoted because she always speaks up".

35. : reduce to bankruptcy; "My daughter's fancy wedding is going to break me!".

36. : change directions suddenly.

37. : emerge from the surface, as of fish in water; "The whales broke".

38. : break down, literally or metaphorically; "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".

39. : do a break dance; "Kids were break-dancing at the street corner".

40. : exchange for smaller units of money; "I had to break a $100 bill just to buy the candy".

41. : destroy the completeness of a set of related items; "The book dealer would not break the set".

42. : make the opening shot that scatters the balls, in billiards or pool.

43. : separate from a clinch, in boxing; "The referee broke the boxers".

44. : go to pieces; "The lawn mower finally broke"; "The gears wore out"; "The old chair finally fell apart completely".

45. : break a piece from a whole; "break a branch from a tree".

46. : pierce the surface of; "The fish broke the water".

47. : become punctured or penetrated: "The skin broke".

48. : pierce or penetrate; "The blade broke her skin".

49. : be released or become known; of news; "News of her death broke in the morning".

50. : cease an action temporarily; "We pause for station identification"; "let's break for lunch".

51. : interrupt the flow of current in; "break a circuit".

52. : undergo breaking; "The simple vowels broke in many Germanic languages".

53. : find a flaw in: "break an alibi".

54. : find the solution or key to; "break the code".

55. : change suddenly from one tone quality or register to another; "Her voice broke to a whisper when she started to talk about her children".

56. : stop and wait, as if awaiting further instructions or developments; "Hold on a moment!"; "We broke at noon".

57. : happen, as of an event; "Report the news as it develops"; "These political movements recrudesce from time to time".

58. : become fractured; break or crack on the surface only; "The glass cracked when it was heated".

59. : of the male voice in puberty; "his voice is breaking--he should no longer sing in the choir".

60. : fall sharply; "stock prices broke".

61. : fracture a bone of: "I broke my foot while playing hockey".

62. : diminish or discontinue abruptly; "The patient's fever broke last night".

63. : weaken or destroy in spirit or body; "For a hero loves the world till it breaks him"--Yeats.

Date "break" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references)

Note: Break \Break\, transitive verb. [imperfect broke, (Obsolete Brake); past participle Broken, (Obsolete Broke); Breaking.]. (references)

Specialty Definition: Break

Domain	Definition
Computing	Break 1. vt. To cause to be broken (in any sense). "Your latest patch to the editor broke the paragraph commands." 2. v. (of a program) To stop temporarily, so that it may debugged. The place where it stops is a `breakpoint'. 3. [techspeak] vi. To send an RS-232 break (two character widths of line high) over a serial comm line. 4. [Unix] vi. To strike whatever key currently causes the tty driver to send SIGINT to the current process. Normally, break (sense 3), delete or control-C does this. 5. `break break' may be said to interrupt a conversation (this is an example of verb doubling). This usage comes from radio communications, which in turn probably came from landline telegraph/teleprinter usage, as badly abused in the Citizen's Band craze a few years ago. Source: Jargon File.
Dream Interpretation	Breakage is a bad dream. To dream of breaking any of your limbs, denotes bad management and probable failures. To break furniture, denotes domestic quarrels and an unquiet state of the mind. To break a window, signifies bereavement. To see a broken ring order will be displaced by furious and dangerous uprisings, such as jealous contentions often cause. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted ....
Electrical Engineering	An open(disconnected)circuit condition caused by a switch, damage to a conductor, etc. Source: European Union. (references)
	An accidental interruption of a broadcast programme. Source: European Union. (references)
Finance	A rapid and sharp price decline. Source: European Union. (references)
Food & Agriculture	The partial or complete separation of the tissues(i. e. wood fibres). Source: European Union. (references)
Geography	An extensive crack, break, or fracture in the rocks. Source: European Union. (references)
Law	Break, break period:an interruption from work or duty for rest, relaxation or recreation. Source: European Union. (references)
Literature	Break (To ). To become a bankrupt. (See Bankrupt. ) To break a bond. To dishonour it. To break a journey. To stop before the journey is accomplished. To break a matter to a person. To be the first to impart it, and to do so cautiously and by piecemeal. To break bread. To partake of the Lord's Supper. "Upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached to them."- Acts xx. 7. To break one's fast. To take food after long abstinence; to eat one's breakfast after the night's fast. To break one's neck. To dislocate the bones of one's neck. To break on the wheel. To torture one on a "wheel" by breaking the long bones with an iron bar. (Cf. COUP DE GRÂCE.) To break a butterfly on a wheel. To employ superabundant effort in the accomplishment of a small matter. "Satire or sense, alas! can Sporus feel, Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel." Pope: Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot, 307-8. To break out of bounds. To go beyond the prescribed limits. Source: Brewer's Dictionary.
Mining	A. A plane of discontinuity in the coal seam such as a slip, fracture, joint, or cleat. The surfaces are in contact or slightly separated. See also:break detector b. A fracture or crack in the roof beds as a result of mining operations. See also:breakes; induced fracture c. To separate core from solid rock at the bottom of a borehole by a tensional pull applied to the drill string d. In mineral processing, optimum mesh of grind (m.o.g.), the practical size range to which ore is reduced before concentration. Not synonymous with liberation mesh. (references)
Post & Telecom	Lateral discontinuity in a range amplitude display. In this sense, an alternative term for echo. Source: European Union. (references)
Transportation	Action of separating into parts with suddeness or stress. Source: European Union. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted.
Entry	Source	Expression	Field
BR	English	Break request	N/A
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

Context	Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).
Dereliction of Duty	Verb: violate; break, break through; infringe; set aside, set at naught; encroach upon, trench upon; trample on, trample under foot; slight, neglect, evade, renounce, forswear, repudiate; wash one's hands of; escape, transgress, fail.
Deterioration	Run to seed, go to seed, run to waste swale, sweal; lapse, be the worse for; sphacelate: break, break down; spring a leak, crack, start; shrivel; (contract); fade, go off, wither, molder, rot, rankle, decay, go bad; go to decay, fall into decay; " fall into the sear and yellow leaf", rust, crumble, shake; totter, totter to its fall; perish; die.
Discontinuity	Noun: discontinuity; disjunction; anacoluthon; interruption, break, fracture, flaw, fault, crack, cut; gap; (interval); solution of continuity, caesura; broken thread; parenthesis, episode, rhapsody, patchwork; intermission; alternation; (periodicity); dropping fire.
	Discontinue, pause, interrupt; intervene; break, break in upon, break off; interpose; break the thread, snap the thread; disconnect; (disjoin); dissever.
Disjunction	Sunder, divide, subdivide, sever, dissever, abscind; circumcise; cut; incide, incise; saw, snip, nib, nip, cleave, rive, rend, slit, split, splinter, chip, crack, snap, break, tear, burst; rend; rend asunder, rend in twain; wrench, rupture, shiver, cranch, crunch, craunch, chop; cut up, rip up; hack, hew, slash; whittle; haggle, hackle, discind, lacerate, scamble, mangle, gash, hash, slice.
	Separation; parting; Verb: circumcision; detachment, segregation; divorce, sejunction, seposition, diduction, diremption, discerption; elision; caesura, break, fracture,
Guilt	Misconduct, misbehavior, misdoing, misdeed; malpractice, fault, sin, error, transgression; dereliction, delinquency; indiscretion, lapse, slip, trip, faux pas, peccadillo; flaw, blot, omission; failing, failure; break, bad break , capital crime, delictum.
Interval	Noun: interval, interspace; separation; break, gap, opening; hole; chasm, hiatus, caesura; interruption, interregnum; interstice, lacuna, cleft, mesh, crevice, chink, rime, creek, cranny, crack, chap, slit, fissure, scissure, rift, flaw, breach, rent, gash, cut, leak, dike, ha-ha.
Nonobservance	Infringe, transgress, violate, pirate, break, trample under foot, do violence to, drive a coach and six through.
Nonpayment	Verb: not pay; fail, break, stop payment; become insolvent, become bankrupt; be gazetted.
Refreshment	Breathe, respire; drink in the ozone; take a break, take a breather, take five, draw breath, take a deep breath, take breath, gather breath, take a long breath, regain breath, recover breath; get better, raise one's head; recover one's strength, regain one's strength, renew one's strength; perk up, get one's second wind.
Teaching	Train, discipline; bring up, bring up to; form, ground, prepare, qualify; drill, exercise, practice, habituate, familiarize with, nurture, drynurse, breed, rear, take in hand; break, break in; tame; preinstruct; initiate; inure; (habituate).
Vehicle	Equipage, turn-out; coach, chariot, phaeton, break, mail phaeton, wagonette, drag, curricle, tilbury, whisky, landau, barouche, victoria, brougham, clarence, calash, caleche, britzka, araba, kibitka; berlin; sulky, desobligeant, sociable, vis-a-vis, dormeuse; jaunting car, outside car; dandi; doolie, dooly; munchil, palki; roller skates, skate; runabout; ski; tonjon; vettura.
Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

Domain	Usage
Screenplays	Listen. If we can't break the ice, how 'bout we drown it (A Beautiful Mind; writing credit: Akiva Goldsman) What a lucky break for me. (Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles; writing credit: Anne Rice) Alright, I'll do it. Where do you want me to break in (Sleuth; writing credit: Anthony Shaffer) Did you just break up with me (Say Anything; writing credit: Cameron Crowe.) Hi, Karl, I'm on my lunch break. I got you these flowers that were on sale, cause they're not fresh (Sling Blade; writing credit: Charles Chaplin)
Lyrics	You're a hard habit to break (Hard Habit to Break; performing artist: Chicago) I just might break something tonight (Break Stuff; performing artist: Limp Bizkit) You think you're gonna break up (Things We Do For Love; performing artist: 10 CC) I can't break these chains that I hold (Loser; performing artist: 3 Doors Down) EVERYONCE IN A WHILE I'LL BREAK OUT THE BACKYARD TO ROAM (Come Back In One Piece; performing artist: Aaliyah)
Clever	Better bend than break. (references; author: Scottish Proverb) A hole is nothing at all, but you can break your neck in it. (references; author: unknown) Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can shatter my soul. (references; author: unknown) Skier: One who pays an arm and a leg for the opportunity to break them. (references; author: unknown) Before you can break out of prison, you must realize that you are locked up. (references; author: unknown)
Movie/TV Titles	The McKenzie Break (1970) Break Out of an Encirclement (1961) The Big Break (1953) Give a Girl a Break (1953) Waiting for the Break (1950)
Song Titles	Break On Through (performing artist: The Doors) Only Love Can Break A Heart (performing artist: Gene Pitney) He Will Break Your Heart (performing artist: Jerry Butler) Break Me (performing artist: Jewel) Break It To Me Gentley (performing artist: Juice Newton)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Domain	Title
Books	How to Pay Zero Taxes 2003 : Your Guide to Every Tax Break the IRS Allows! (reference) Make Up, Don't Break Up: Finding and Keeping Love for Singles and Couples (reference) (more book examples)

Periodicals	First Break (reference) (more periodical examples)

Theater & Movies	Girls Gone Wild:Spring Break 2k2 (reference) Point Break (reference) Shania Twain - The Specials (Winter Break / Come On Over) (reference) Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, Chapter 6 - Spring Break Adventure (reference) Bobby Jones: Executive Gift Set (includes: How to Break 90, How I Play Golf - A Round of Golf, How I Play Golf - The Long Game, How I Play Golf - The Short Game (reference) (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Music	Christopher O'Riley At The Break (reference) Break the Rules (reference) Point Break 1 (reference) This Black Heart Is Gonna Break (reference) (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

High Tech	100MB Telco 180 To Hydra Pvc (4ft Break) (reference) (more camera examples; more video game examples; more computer examples; more electronic examples; more software examples)

Consumer Goods	Capresso 402.01 Coffee Break 4-Cup Drip Coffeemaker, Black (reference) Alert Stamping GFT-2T-CB Circuit Break Protected GFCI (reference) (more baby examples; more wireless phone examples; more garden examples; more kitchen examples; more tool examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Thumbnail	Description & Credit	Thumbnail	Description & Credit
	Schematic diagram of chromosomes 8, 2, 14, and 22 which are involved in the translocations (usually 8;14, less frequently 8;22 or 2;8) which occur in Burkitt's Lymphoma. The break points for these translocations are identified by the banding regions (q24, p13, q32 and q11). These break points on chromosomes 2, 14, and 22 correspond to chromosomal regions to which have been mapped the kappa, heavy chain and lambda constant region genes respectively. Credit: Unknown photographer/artist.		This illustration with and without text, titled "How Cancer Spreads" explains the process of metastasis. Once metastatic cells are attached to the basement membrane (a physical barrier that seperates tissue components), they break through with the help of an enzyme called type IV collagenase. Cancer cells then move through the blood stream enabling them to spread to other parts of the body. A secondary tumor may form at another site in the body. See artwork: GA-17. Credit: Jane Hurd (artist).
	Symptoms from HSV-1 or HSV-2 infection, when signs do occur, typically appear as one or more blisters on or around the genitals or rectum. The blisters break, leaving tender ulcers (sores) that may take two to four weeks to heal the first time they occur. Credit: CDC.		Mass Spectrometers produce high-energy electrons which break up the molecules for use in identifying substances. Credit: CDC.
	USS VINCENNES in pack ice - Captain Charles Wilkes commanding On the Antarctic shelf, Wilkes sounded with copper wire in 400 fathoms First use of wire instead of hemp sounding line Copper too ductile and would break - gave up on idea. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.		Turkey Vultures and Black Vultures taking a break from searching for carrion on a Patuxent River fence. Credit: America's Coastlines.
	Fog tumbling through a break in the mountains at Prince William Sound. Credit: America's Coastlines.		A break in the rocks. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth.
	Increasing expanses of melted snow and ice during the spring melt Weasel checking sea ice landing strip at Oliktok Point - If weasel didn't break ice, ski planes could land. If weasels broke ice, they would float as they were amphibious. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth.		A 400 kilogram (880 pounds) tuna is landed by eight fishermen. This is a difficult and dangerous time when synchronized effort is required to land the tuna. Poor timing can cause the poles to break and a fisherman to land in the water. Some fishermen have died in this manner after falling overboard and being struck by the tuna tails. Credit: Fisheries.
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.


"Break time in park" by Obed Tewes Commentary: "Girl having a break from work in a park in Perth."	"Sun break" by Ruben Rodriguez Commentary: "Sun completely covered by breakign wave."
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers.

Play	Caption	Play	Caption
	Very typical Latin jazz style incorporating a unison rhythm break.		Break whistle at a factory.
	A synthesized break beat.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Author	Quotation
Baltasar Gracian	A beautiful woman should break her mirror early.
Francois Rabelais	Break the bone and suck out the substantific marrow.
George Eliot	I desire no future that will break the ties with the past.
Henry David Thoreau	I say, break the law.
John Dryden	We first make our habits, and then our habits break us.
Lord Byron	The heart will break, but broken live on.
Martin Luther	If I break wind in Wittenberg they smell it in Rome.
Scottish Proverb	Better bend than break.
Thomas Fuller	Better break your word than do worse in keeping it.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Author	Date	Quotation
John Locke	1690	Should a robber break into my house, and with a dagger at my throat make me seal deeds to convey my estate to him, would this give him any title? Just such a title, by his sword, has an unjust conqueror, who forces me into submission. (Second Treatise of Government)
John F. Kennedy	1961	To those peoples in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required--not because the Communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. (reference)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Title	Author	Quote
Emma	Austen, Jane	She will break it to you better than I can.
Alice in Wonderland	Carroll, Lewis	The Hatter was the first to break the silence
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe	Douglas Adams	A wonderful quietness would decend on the surrounding countryside, peacefull and serene, eminating from this transfigured man. Slowly the dear would approch, step by step, until it was almost nuzzling him, whereupon Ford Prefect would reach out to it and break it's neck
Scarlet Letter	Hawthorne, Nathaniel	Morning would break, and find him there
Les Miserables	Hugo, Victor	(4) (r)To break* a pane by means of a plaster of mastic, which, sticking to the window, holds the glass and prevents noise
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man	Joyce, James	Where did you break your glasses
King Richard III	Shakespeare, William	If thou didst fear to break an oath with Him, The unity the King my husband made Thou hadst not broken, nor my brothers died
Grapes of Wrath	Steinbeck, John	And then the leaves break out on the trees, and the petals drop from the fruit trees and carpet the earth with pink and white
Gulliver's Travels	Swift, Jonathan	I myself have seen two or three candidates break a limb
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Subject	Topic	Quote
Health		Bones weaken and break easily. (references)
		With time bones may become weak and may break. (references)
		CYP2D6 also helps break down certain other drugs. (references)
Business		A sector wise break up of IT spending is given in the Table 13 below. (references)
		Usually the price will make or break a sale, especially among home users. (references)
		Siemens and Nokia want to break Ericsson's present hegemony in wireless technology. (references)
Civil Liberties	Turkmenistan	The police failed to break up the demonstration, which resulted in the reopening of the market in Dashoguz. (references)
	Zimbabwe	Police were deployed in large numbers, reportedly to discourage attendance; however, they did not break up the meeting. (references)
	Nauru	They may break the contract and leave without permission but would lose their positions and often a sizable bond as a result. (references)
Economic History	Nigeria	The goal of this policy was to break NITEL's monopoly control over telecommunications. (references)
	Estonia	The final blow came at the ECP's 20th Congress in March 1990 when it voted to break with the CPSU. (references)
	Bulgaria	The Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) Government made a clean break with the failed policies of the early and mid-1990s. (references)
Human Rights	Korea	In April and June, police used force to break up demonstrations, some of which had turned violent. (references)
	Guatemala	On June 17, 78 prisoners escaped from the maximum-security facility in Escuintla without having to break a single lock. (references)
	Russia	Guards reportedly severely discipline prisoners to break down resistance; at times guards humiliated, beat, and starved prisoners. (references)
Minorities	India	In Uttar Pradesh on August 6, a young couple, a Brahmin boy and a Jat (lower caste) girl, were hanged publicly by their own families in front of most of the village as punishment for refusing to break off a cross-caste relationship. (references)
Political Economy	OMAN	In the past, some foreign suppliers have complained that exclusive agency agreements are difficult to break. (references)
	PARAGUAY	This law requires that to break a contractual relation with its Paraguayan distributor, the foreign company must prove just cause in a Paraguayan court. (references)
Political Rights	Trinidad and Tobago	Both parties looked to President A.N.R. Robinson to break the deadlock by appointing as Prime Minister that candidate most likely to be able to command a majority in Parliament. (references)
	Bosnia and Herzegovina	To break the deadlock, the High Representative issued a legal finding stating that both the Cantonal Assemblies and the Federation House of Peoples could be constituted by those delegates who took their seats. (references)
Travel	Spain	There is no substitute for face-to-face meetings with Spanish business representatives to break into this market. (references)
Women	Portugal	Its success demonstrates an increased public awareness, which reportedly is helping to break down the social reluctance to report cases of domestic violence. (references)
	Finland	The project against violence offered nationwide support for women in need and for men to combat their own tendencies to resort to violence; it has helped to break the taboo about the subject. (references)
Worker Rights	Gambia	A 30-minute lunch break is mandated. (references)
Lexicography	Devil's Dictionary	DEPUTY, n. A male relative of an office-holder, or of his bondsman. The deputy is commonly a beautiful young man, with a red necktie and an intricate system of cobwebs extending from his nose to his desk. When accidentally struck by the janitor's broom, he gives off a cloud of dust. "Chief Deputy," the Master cried, "To-day the books are to be tried By experts and accountants who Have been commissioned to go through Our office here, to see if we Have stolen injudiciously. Please have the proper entries made, The proper balances displayed, Conforming to the whole amount Of cash on hand -- which they will count. I've long admired your punctual way -- Here at the break and close of day, Confronting in your chair the crowd Of business men, whose voices loud And gestures violent you quell By some mysterious, calm spell -- Some magic lurking in your look That brings the noisiest to book And spreads a holy and profound Tranquillity o'er all around. So orderly all's done that they Who came to draw remain to pay. But now the time demands, at last, That you employ your genius vast In energies more active. Rise And shake the lightnings from your eyes; Inspire your underlings, and fling Your spirit into everything!" The Master's hand here dealt a whack Upon the Deputy's bent back, When straightway to the floor there fell A shrunken globe, a rattling shell A blackened, withered, eyeless head! The man had been a twelvemonth dead. Jamrach Holobom
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Speaker	Term	Phrase(s)
James Monroe	1817-1825	Experiencing the fortune of other nations, the United States may be again involved in war, and it may in that event be the object of the adverse party to overset our Government, to break our Union, and demolish us as a nation.
Abraham Lincoln	1861-1865	Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.
Harry S. Truman	1945-1953	To wait would cause the controls to break down in a short time, and would hamper our production and employment program.
Lyndon B. Johnson	1963-1969	The first step is to break old patterns-to begin to think and work and plan for the development of the entire metropolitan areas.
Richard Nixon	1969-1974	In mid-July, I became convinced that it was necessary to make a major move to break the deadlock in the Paris talks.
Ronald Reagan	1981-1989	But a downpayment alone is not enough to break us out of the deficit problem.
Bill Clinton	1993-2001	We must break the deadly cycle of drugs and crime.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Lexical Verb (infinitive)	51.66%	4,500	2,172
Noun (singular)	37.21%	3,242	2,928
Lexical Verb (base form)	11.03%	961	7,574
Unclassified Items	0.06%	5	157,705
Noun (proper)	0.03%	3	202,518
Total	100.00%	8,711	N/A

Expressions using "break": apt to break ♦ bad break ♦ border break ♦ break a bond ♦ break a butterfly on wheel ♦ break a code ♦ break a fly on the wheel ♦ break a habit ♦ break a lance with ♦ break a lance with smb. ♦ break a leg ♦ break a leg! ♦ break a letter open ♦ break a record ♦ break a tendon ♦ break a vow ♦ break a window ♦ break adrift ♦ break an appointment ♦ break apart ♦ break apart/to ♦ break asunder ♦ break at the bottom ♦ break away ♦ break away curve ♦ break away from ♦ break back ♦ break bone fever ♦ break bones ♦ break bounds ♦ break bread ♦ break bulk ♦ break camp ♦ break china ♦ break contact ♦ break cover ♦ break dance ♦ break dancer ♦ break dancing ♦ break down ♦ break even ♦ break even chart ♦ break even point ♦ break faith ♦ break faith with smb. ♦ break flax ♦ break for lunch ♦ break for taller timber ♦ break formation ♦ break forth ♦ break free ♦ break fresh ground ♦ break ground ♦ break in ♦ break in a talk ♦ break in pensionable service ♦ break in pieces ♦ break in the clouds ♦ break in the journey ♦ break in the work ♦ break in two ♦ break in upon ♦ break into ♦ break into a chord ♦ break into a gallop ♦ break into a laugh ♦ break into a song ♦ break into a trot ♦ break into applause ♦ break into blossom ♦ break into laughter ♦ break into perspiration ♦ break into pieces ♦ break into segment ♦ break into song ♦ break into tears ♦ break its banks ♦ break jail ♦ break line ♦ break loose ♦ break new ground ♦ break no bones ♦ break of a habit ♦ break of day ♦ break of serve ♦ break of the day ♦ break of the habit ♦ break of the peace ♦ break off ♦ break off a connection ♦ break off an engagement ♦ break off relation ♦ break off relations ♦ break off with ♦ break on ♦ break on one's promise ♦ break on the wheel ♦ break on two ♦ break one's arm ♦ break one's back ♦ break one's connection with. Additional references.
Hyphenated Usage
	Beginning with "break": break-and-enter, break-angle, break-away, break-ax, break-back, Break-circuit, break-clause, break-clauses, break-dance, break-dancing, break-down, break-downs, break-even, break-even load factor, break-even point, break-even price, break-fall, break-free, break-in, break-in point, break-ing, break-ins, break-neck, break-notice, break-off, break-off point, break-off position, break-out, break-outs, break-point, break-points, break-surfaces, break-through, break-time, break-times, Break-up, break-uprithmetic, break-ups, break-water.
	Ending with "break": coffee-break, lunch-break, make-or-break, mini-break, single-break, tea-break, tie-break.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Speaker	Phrase(s)
Al Hunt	All right. We're going to take a break right now, but when we come back, we'll have the Big Question for the Iraqi ambassador to the United Nations.
Celine Dion	Well, a part of me stayed with you, but I needed to take a long break, I needed to have a normal life for just a little bit. My husband got ill almost three years ago.
Don Imus	See I'm not like, I'm not like David Letterman. He's a very nice guy I'm sure. But remember that woman who used to break in his house all the time.
Glen Campbell	Oh, yeah. Definitely. You can't, you know, you can't break up anything unless somebody wants you to.
Marla Hanson	I'm taking a break and I'm trying to concentrate on an acting career, which will of course take some training and some time, and I'm going to give myself the time to do that.
Naomi Campbell	I really adored it and I miss it and I've got this fear, which I'm hopefully going to break one day soon or going back to class just for a hobby, just to enjoy.
Robert Novak	We do have to take a break, and when we come back, we'll ask Congressman Dick Gephardt if the country needs more money for homeland security.
Rush Limbaugh	Brian quoted Ariel Sharon as saying he'll only meet with Jeb Bush when he visits south Florida next month, and not break bread with any Democrat leaders.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Expression	Frequency per Day	Expression	Frequency per Day
spring break	10,211	daytona spring break	544
coffee break arcade	3,517	spring break 2003	456
break dance	2,278	spring break photo	452
cancun spring break	2,193	break up	424
spring break picture	2,016	nude spring break	343
break dancing	1,361	break up song	342
college spring break	1,246	coffe break arcade	323
jamaica spring break	1,203	break up poem	299
coffee break	1,177	coffee break.com	277
spring break trip	1,159	arcade.com break coffee	270
south padre spring break	1,146	break up quote	261
spring break vacation	1,042	coffee break game	253
spring break package	992	spring break sex	242
spring break girl	988	weekend break	220
daytona beach spring break	910	spring break uncensored	219
spring break party	883	black spring break	192
spring break bahamas	795	break dance move	189
spring break mexico	599	spring break video	184
break	563	city break	182
tax break	555	spring break babe	180
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Language		Translations for "break"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Afrikaans		pouse (intermission, pause, recess), breek, afbreek (break off). (various references)

Albanian		ndalem papritur, çarje (breaking, cleavage, cleft, cut, dissection, fissure, fracture, gap, gulf, incision, opening, orifice, rent, rift, slash, split, splitting, wedge), amortizoj (absorb, amortise, amortize, muffle), arratisem (break out, decamp, elope, escape, evade, run off, scat, scoot, sling one's hook, take away, take flight), arratisje (debacle, decampment, elopement, escape, escapement, evasion, flight, leg-bail, scamper, scape), copëtoj (break in pieces, chop,

Break

Definition: Break

Break

Noun

Verb

Specialty Definition: Break

Abbreviations & Acronyms: Break

Synonyms: Break

Synonyms within Context: Break

Dereliction of Duty

Deterioration

Discontinuity

Disjunction

Guilt

Interval

Nonobservance

Nonpayment

Refreshment

Teaching

Vehicle

Crosswords: Break

Modern Usage: Break

Screenplays

Lyrics

Clever

Movie/TV Titles

Song Titles

Commercial Usage: Break

Books

Periodicals

Theater & Movies

Music

High Tech

Consumer Goods

Image Slideshow: Break

Photos:Break

Illustrations:Break

Computer Images:Break

Photo Album: Break

Digital Photo Gallery: Break

Sounds Captioned with "Break".

Familiar Quotations: Break

Baltasar Gracian

Francois Rabelais

George Eliot

Henry David Thoreau

John Dryden

Lord Byron

Martin Luther

Scottish Proverb

Thomas Fuller

Historic Usage: Break

John Locke

John F. Kennedy

Use in Literature: Break

Emma

Austen, Jane

Alice in Wonderland

Carroll, Lewis

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

Douglas Adams

Scarlet Letter

Hawthorne, Nathaniel

Les Miserables

Hugo, Victor

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Joyce, James

King Richard III

Shakespeare, William

Grapes of Wrath

Steinbeck, John

Gulliver's Travels

Swift, Jonathan

Non-Fiction Usage: Break

Lexicography

Devil's Dictionary

Spoken Usage: Break

Al Hunt

Celine Dion

Don Imus

Photos:
Break

Illustrations:
Break

Computer Images:
Break