Synonyms of break
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as in to disrupt 
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as in to stop
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as in to reduce
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as in to decipher
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as in to pause
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as in to plow
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as in to violate
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as in to solve
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as in to damage
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as in to die
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as in to retreat
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as in to wear
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as in to circulate
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as in to ruin
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as in to begin
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as in to veer
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as in to depress
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as in to exceed
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as in to surface
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as in pause
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as in vacation
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as in gap
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as in opportunity
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as in accident
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as in escape
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Example Sentences
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1
as in to disrupt
to cause to separate into pieces usually suddenly or forcibly
hated telling her that I had broken her favorite glass vase
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2
as in to stop
to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end
the final vote broke the deadlock
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3
as in to reduce
to bring to a lower grade or rank
the captain was broken to lieutenant commander for disobeying a direct order from his group commander
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4
as in to decipher
to change (as a secret message) from code into ordinary language
Alan Turing and the Bletchley Park mathematicians broke the Enigma code being used by the Nazis
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5
as in to pause
to come to a temporary halt in one's activity
she broke from her ruminations to find that it was already dinnertime
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as in to violate
to fail to keep
had to confess that he had broken his promise not to share their conversation with anyone
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8
as in to solve
to find an answer for through reasoning
Professor Bates broke the problem when she realized that it was possible to synthesize the necessary compounds
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as in to damage
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
I broke a tooth on the hard candy
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10
as in to die
to stop functioning
after working for 30 years, the pump simply broke one day
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11
as in to retreat
to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening
the herd of gazelles broke when they saw the lions racing toward them from the ridge above
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12
as in to wear
to use up all the physical energy of
the trek up the mountain just about broke me
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13
as in to circulate
to become known
as soon as the scandal broke, the CEO fled the country
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as in to begin
to come into existence
the crisis had passed, and a new day was breaking
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16
as in to veer
to depart abruptly from a straight line or course
the running back broke to his left before running out of bounds
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as in to depress
to diminish the price or value of
distressing economic news that will break many energy stocks
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18
as in to exceed
to go beyond the limit of
a menu with prices that is likely to break the budgets of all but the wealthiest of diners
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as in pause
a momentary halt in an activity
there was a brief break after the first movement as the doors to the concert hall were opened and the latecomers were allowed in
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2
as in vacation
a period during which the usual routine of school or work is suspended
most of the students at the boarding school are going home for Christmas break
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3
as in gap
an open space in a barrier (as a wall or hedge)
the rancher repaired the break in the fence where the horse had gotten through
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5
as in accident
an unexpected benefit or advantage resulting from the uncertain course of events
a guy who just seems to get all the breaks in life
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as in escape
the act or an instance of getting free from danger or confinement
a desperate break from that hellhole
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of break
Sara Merican, Deadline, 28 Dec. 2024
The task of fixing all that broke at Paramount under the Redstone family won’t be easy.
—Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 17 Dec. 2024
Chris Waugh, The Athletic, 17 Dec. 2024
Detroit Tigers The Tigers, who were 47-50 and 6½ games out of a playoff spot at the All-Star break, made the American League Championship series this past season, going on a 31-11 run from Aug. 11 through Sept. 27.
—Jalen Williams, Detroit Free Press, 17 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for break 
Verb
The Hindi-language show stars Ananya Pandey as a former spoiled girl from an elite family who becomes street-smart reporter who mixes being broke with breaking news.
—Sara Merican, Deadline, 28 Dec. 2024
The task of fixing all that broke at Paramount under the Redstone family won’t be easy.
—Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 17 Dec. 2024
Noun
In 2024-25, up to the November international break (13 matches), that had dropped to 6.0, 33 per cent down season on season.
—Chris Waugh, The Athletic, 17 Dec. 2024
Detroit Tigers The Tigers, who were 47-50 and 6½ games out of a playoff spot at the All-Star break, made the American League Championship series this past season, going on a 31-11 run from Aug. 11 through Sept. 27.
—Jalen Williams, Detroit Free Press, 17 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for break
Recent Examples of Synonyms for break
Verb
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Changes To Routines Vacations often disrupt regular habits, including sleep schedules and diets.Caitlin Pagán, Verywell Health, 28 Dec. 2024
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However, the pandemic disrupted those plans, and Williams was forced to stage a series of virtual performances — like NPR’s Tiny Desk from Nashville — during the album’s promotional push.Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 28 Dec. 2024
Verb
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One thing to note: Don’t expect to have your steak cooked well done, Jess & Jim’s scale stops at medium well.Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 31 Dec. 2024
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Message attachments will be removed, web pages will not display as normal, some calls will be blocked, some photo albums will be unavailable, some wireless connections will be disabled, and some accessories will stop working.Zak Doffman, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
Verb
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The European Space Agency (ESA) has also reduced the maximum time spent in LEO for its new missions from 25 to five years, while NASA is reassessing its mitigation policies.David Faris, Newsweek, 28 Dec. 2024
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The Perform Flare Legging is only $26 (previously $88), while the ReNew Fleece Oversized Crew is reduced to $29 from $98.Talia Ergas, Travel + Leisure, 28 Dec. 2024
Verb
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The group can’t decipher any helpful clues from that cryptic text, but all have thoughts on the importance of the upcoming contest.EW.com, EW.com, 19 Dec. 2024
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To decipher her code, translate the picture (or pictures) on each card into two words, then anagram the letters to spell out one of the dishes depicted on the right.Suerynn Lee, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2024
Verb
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And analysts say policymakers are likely to pause at their next rate-setting meeting in January.Don Lee, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2024
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Then, in January, the Biden administration paused permitting for new exports and started analyzing the economic, national-security, and climate impacts of expanding natural-gas exports.Zoë Schlanger, The Atlantic, 18 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Wondering what streets have been plowed around Indianapolis?Jade Jackson, The Indianapolis Star, 20 Dec. 2024
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Southeast Asia is fast emerging as an investment hot spot for AI leaders like Nvidia Corp. and Microsoft Corp., which are plowing money into cloud services and data centers.Eleanor Pringle, Fortune Asia, 20 Dec. 2024
Verb
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All three officials violated the department's confidentiality and media policy by leaking the information, while one of the officials also violated the department's social media policy by sharing the articles to an official department social media account.George Monastiriakos, Newsweek, 30 Dec. 2024
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This practice allegedly violates the copyrights of millions of artists, yet accountability remains murky.Virginie Berger, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024
Verb
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At Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, a newly-reinvigorated population of native southern sea otters have eaten so many invasive European green crabs that researchers say the otters have locally solved a problem that has plagued the West Coast for years.Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY, 21 Dec. 2024
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These emerging trends that will shape 2025 are not about innovation for its own sake but about preparing students for a future that prioritizes adaptability, human-centric skills, and cognitive problem solving.Mary Hemphill, PhD, Forbes, 21 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near break
Cite this Entry
“Break.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/break. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.
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