breaks 1 of 2

present tense third-person singular of break
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as in reduces
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 deciphers
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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as in plows
to cut into and turn over the sod of (a piece of land) using a bladed implement farmers once broke fields with horse-drawn plows

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as in dies
to stop functioning after working for 30 years, the pump simply broke one day

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as in bankrupts
to cause to lose one's fortune and become unable to pay one's debts another bad investment could break him

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as in surfaces
to penetrate the surface (as of water) from below dolphins were breaking all around the boat

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breaks

2 of 2

noun

plural of break
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2
as in vacations
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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as in opportunities
a favorable combination of circumstances, time, and place in classic fashion, her big break came when, as an understudy, she took over for an ailing star

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as in accidents
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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6

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of breaks
Verb
Virgo has Steal Away begin as a feminist drama that eventually breaks conventions by morphing into something of a horror film, with even a pinch of the supernatural. Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2025 The campaign breaks Thursday in tandem with the retail drop of the Passepartout collection for fall 2025, strong on Lurex jersey dresses and sweaters with a labyrinth motif that gives an animal-print vibe. Miles Socha, Footwear News, 4 Sep. 2025 Nash-Betts breaks the who's who down for us. Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Sep. 2025 Wild animal breaks into California home, helps himself to multiple meals. FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2025 This fragmentation breaks Ethereum’s original composability and interoperability, as DEXs on one layer-2 cannot seamlessly interact with others, reducing the ability of decentralized applications (DApps) to operate seamlessly across the Ethereum ecosystem. Sean Lee, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025 If 10-year-old Christian Savitskie breaks a leg, his dad could lose his job. Darcie Moran, Freep.com, 2 Sep. 2025 The Annunciation Church attack breaks a boundary - namely, that children should be spared from society's typical ills. Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 29 Aug. 2025 An amendment was tabled by Texas House Republican Steve Toth, and approved, raising the fine on any institution that breaks the law to an initial $25,000 followed by $125,000 for any additional breaches. James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
Noun
Potential breaks for employers Other changes that would allow workers to set aside more of their income on a pre-tax basis in flexible spending accounts for care expenses, from $5,000 to $7,500, are also likely to provide the largest benefits to higher income workers. David Lightman, Sacbee.com, 5 Sep. 2025 That means more snack breaks during your study sessions. Mariyam Muhammad, Cincinnati Enquirer, 5 Sep. 2025 The group checked if workers earned enough to support a family; whether benefits like paid leave and breastfeeding breaks were available; and if workers could organize without fear of retaliation. Angela Rodriguez, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2025 The monitors helped study participants needs such as food and restroom breaks, but the monitors were instructed not to provide any therapy to avoid influencing the study's results. Ken Alltucker, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025 Take frequent breaks to move your legs and get your blood flowing. Sarah Hudgens, Health, 4 Sep. 2025 Sydney, Australia Anchored by icons like the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge, Sydney unfolds between surf breaks and skyline silhouettes. Lewis Nunn, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025 This is only one of the genre’s many implicit rules that HBO’s Task breaks. Judy Berman, Time, 28 Aug. 2025 The fugitive mood breaks when the cocaine runs out and Tamsin must wait a day for Ekow to make his delivery. Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for breaks
Verb
  • Incomplete or inconsistent data disrupts workflows and triggers irrelevant follow-ups.
    Al Sefati, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
  • And there’s the impact of climate change itself, which disrupts seasonal temperature change routines.
    Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • When policy, innovation, and business insight align, CCU stops being a piece of green rhetoric and becomes good business.
    Peter Bendor-Samuel, Forbes.com, 12 Sep. 2025
  • The buck stops with the humans.
    Big Think, Big Think, 11 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • This not only reinforces clarity, but also reduces the reliance on employees having to scribble notes word for word to decode later.
    Dr. Diane Hamilton, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
  • But prorating three years of player profits down to 12 months, as UEFA’s rule does, reduces the immediate efficacy of successful trading in the market, the very strategy that poorer clubs increasingly rely on to climb the ladder.
    Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • My body no longer deciphers its signals correctly.
    Alaa Alqaisi August 13, Literary Hub, 13 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Fired from elite law firm Tinley Britt after an argument with his boss (John Slattery), Rudy barely pauses for breath before launching into righteous combat.
    Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025
  • Many of us are taught from childhood that pauses in conversation are awkward, even dangerous, and that love must constantly be proven through words.
    Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • What Lies Ahead There is a rapidly closing window to ensure gender parity in leadership as the AI revolution plows forward.
    Cynthia Pong, Forbes.com, 24 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Any member who violates the ban would need to pay a fee equal to 10% of the value of the covered investment, and get rid of any profits from that investment.
    Emily Wilkins, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2025
  • In times of war, it is simply forbidden to say anything that violates the general consensus—and the consensus regarding the war is sacred and immutable.
    Uriel Kon September 2, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Tune in for short episodes every Wednesday and Saturday as Grumpy answers reader questions, solves seasonal conundrums, and provides need-to-know advice for gardeners with his very Grumpy sense of humor.
    Steve Bender, Southern Living, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Your product solves a real problem.
    Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025

Cite this Entry

“Breaks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breaks. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.

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