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
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
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
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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Recent Examples of break
Verb
Brady noticed something wrong about the Lions’ defense as the Commanders broke their huddle.—Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 8 Feb. 2025 Two years ago, a record was broken when Grand Champion steer Snoop Dog commanded a whopping $440,000.—Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Feb. 2025
Noun
It’s been a strange season for the Chiefs, who went 15-1 in games started by Mahomes but caught breaks along the way.—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 9 Feb. 2025 Solo Ball raced to 13 points in the first half, continuing his otherworldly shooting, but didn’t have as many opportunities and went scoreless after the break.—Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 8 Feb. 2025
Adjective
About half of participants lost money, and 1 in 6 went broke.—Ryan Ermey, CNBC, 13 Jan. 2025 This has led to worries that, with all the damage from the current fires, the plan will go broke.—Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 10 Jan. 2025
Verb
After the news of Zuckerberg’s bunker broke, other one-percenters followed suit.—Christy Piña, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Dec. 2024 But then the defense broke again on the Blue run.—The Athletic College Football Staff, The Athletic, 21 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for break
On Friday, a judge prevented the Trump administration from placing 2,200 employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development, known as USAID, on administrative leave, after a pause on all new U.S. foreign assistance programs funded by the State Department and USAID the week prior.
—
Kaia Hubbard,
CBS News,
9 Feb. 2025
Not done yet Martin Truex Jr. has put his retirement on pause for another shot at the Daytona 500.
Even today, having to fight to be represented in magazines and museums, galleries, the price gap for Black art.
—
Lisa Deaderick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 Feb. 2025
Florida test scores are already at a 20-year low due to the state underfunding education, so eliminating the U.S. Department of Education would further reduce funding and increase the learning gap between the rich and everyone else.
So Lorne gave me that opportunity, which led to 30 Rock, which led to Bridesmaids, which led to a lot of other gigs in the Tina Fey, Robert Carlock, Lorne Michaels universe.
—
Erin Clack,
People.com,
9 Feb. 2025
From $110 Brooklyn High Low With locations in both Prospect Heights and Park Slope, Brooklyn High Low offers the rare opportunity to enjoy afternoon tea in a borough other than Manhattan.
The fact that such different sets of circumstances led to very different kinds of accidents, should provide some reassurance to the flying public, with no connective tissue linking one accident to another.
—
Jeffrey Kluger,
TIME,
11 Feb. 2025
Blunt force trauma Another leading cause of death of migrants is falling from heights or experiencing car accidents.
The three prisoners chiseled an escape route from their own jail cells and built makeshift, papier mâché heads.
—
Ryan Morik,
Fox News,
13 Feb. 2025
Photo : Courtesy of Jumby Bay Private Jet to a Private Island
Escape reality with your sweetheart as you’re whisked away by private jet to Jumby Bay Island’s sundrenched shores in Antigua.
Numerous aid workers in northern Thailand described widespread panic and confusion following the sudden suspension of aid, especially among those whose work provides life-saving services to some of the world’s most vulnerable and impoverished people on both sides of the border.
—
Ivan Watson,
CNN,
11 Feb. 2025
Meanwhile, the sight of an unelected billionaire dismantling an agency that was set up to help the impoverished is already undermining faith in U.S. democracy.
The degree of care that went into the documentary aspects of the six hours matched the flawless way in which 27 acts proceeded one another on stage with nary a lull or snafu in sight.
—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
31 Jan. 2025
That lull in performance coincided with Pickens’ injury absence and an emphasis from opponents on eliminating the deep ball.
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