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 disrupted
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as in ended
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as in demoted
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as in deciphered
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as in paused
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as in plowed
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as in violated
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as in solved
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as in damaged
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as in died
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as in retreated
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as in wore
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as in circulated
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as in ruined
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as in began
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as in veered
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as in reduced
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as in exceeded
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as in surfaced
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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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as in impoverished
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Example Sentences
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Phrases Containing
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Entries Near
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Related Articles
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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Relevance
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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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6
7
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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9
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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14
15
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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17
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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1
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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4
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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6
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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as in impoverished
lacking money or material possessions
too broke to afford even a used car
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in disrupted
to cause to separate into pieces usually suddenly or forcibly
hated telling her that I had broken her favorite glass vase
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ended
to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end
the final vote broke the deadlock
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in demoted
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in deciphered
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in paused
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in plowed
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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7
as in violated
to fail to keep
had to confess that he had broken his promise not to share their conversation with anyone
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
8
as in solved
to find an answer for through reasoning
Professor Bates broke the problem when she realized that it was possible to synthesize the necessary compounds
Synonyms & Similar Words
9
as in damaged
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
I broke a tooth on the hard candy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
10
as in died
to stop functioning
after working for 30 years, the pump simply broke one day
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
11
as in retreated
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
12
as in wore
to use up all the physical energy of
the trek up the mountain just about broke me
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
13
as in circulated
to become known
as soon as the scandal broke, the CEO fled the country
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
14
as in ruined
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
15
as in began
to come into existence
the crisis had passed, and a new day was breaking
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
16
as in veered
to depart abruptly from a straight line or course
the running back broke to his left before running out of bounds
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
17
as in reduced
to diminish the price or value of
distressing economic news that will break many energy stocks
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
18
as in exceeded
to go beyond the limit of
a menu with prices that is likely to break the budgets of all but the wealthiest of diners
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of break
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, Orlando Sentinel, 17 Mar. 2025
If anything begins to break or feel different, take pictures for comparison and reach out to the company ASAP.
—Molly Higgins, WIRED, 17 Mar. 2025
Natalia Senanayake, People.com, 17 Mar. 2025
When the bottle breaks, a livid flood comes rushing out.
—Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2025
Sara Netzley, EW.com, 21 Dec. 2024
Show creator Natasha Rothwell plays Mel, a broke JFK airport employee who has never been in love.
—Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 5 Feb. 2025
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
Verb
That’s why news organizations, including the Orlando Sentinel and the New York Times, have sued Open AI and its partner Microsoft over their breaking copyright law by vacuuming up millions of newspaper articles without permission or payment, constituting copyright infringement on a colossal scale.
—Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, Orlando Sentinel, 17 Mar. 2025
If anything begins to break or feel different, take pictures for comparison and reach out to the company ASAP.
—Molly Higgins, WIRED, 17 Mar. 2025
Noun
Most recently, the designer shared an inside look at her relaxing getaway with Larocca amid her rare filming break from her HGTV shows, which also includes the new seriesThe Flip Off that debuted in January.
—Natalia Senanayake, People.com, 17 Mar. 2025
When the bottle breaks, a livid flood comes rushing out.
—Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2025
Adjective
Perhaps part of the problem was the downer premise: a broke Phyllis moves in with her San Francisco in-laws and struggles to find a job following the death of her dermatologist husband.
—Sara Netzley, EW.com, 21 Dec. 2024
Show creator Natasha Rothwell plays Mel, a broke JFK airport employee who has never been in love.
—Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 5 Feb. 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for break
Noun
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Since then, The Bachelorette has had 21 seasons and 23 leads (Seasons 16 and 19 had two Bachelorettes) until February 2025 when news broke that ABC had put the series on pause.—
Jason Pham,
StyleCaster,
17 Mar. 2025
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According to fans at the show, an announcer told the crowd that the unplanned pause was due to an electrical fire and said Journey would continue the show, ABC 13 Houston reported.—
Bailey Richards,
People.com,
15 Mar. 2025
Noun
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As an adult, these can take the form of remembering specific events, like watching a sports match or taking a vacation.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
21 Mar. 2025
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The world of contemporary skiing is associated with fancy vacations, multi-national corporations, high-dollar season passes and expensive gear.—
Jacob Spetzler,
The Denver Post,
20 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The Liverpool midfielder then finds Alvarez in the gap between Nandez and Araujo.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
The Athletic,
23 Mar. 2025
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Supply chain bottlenecks and shortages of critical components—such as semiconductors and specialized machinery—have further driven up prices, highlighting the substantial gap between current book values and genuine replacement or reproduction costs.—
Mark Le Dain,
Forbes,
23 Mar. 2025
Noun
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That’s where businesses should be working with forward-thinking strategy partners that specialize in identifying disruptive forces and turning them into opportunities.—
Dev Patnaik,
Forbes,
18 Mar. 2025
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Even the historically bad White Sox can't justify giving Gallo an opportunity to continue hitting.—
Mark Davis,
Newsweek,
17 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Connected sensors track environmental hazards, which secure rapid response to prevent accidents.—
Oleg Fonarov,
Forbes,
21 Mar. 2025
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What if Gemma was at fault for the accident and seriously harmed or killed another person?—
Jason Pham,
StyleCaster,
21 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The Reality: Most Will Not Be Able to Enter Canada Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants has left many searching for an escape, but Canada will not be a viable refuge for the vast majority.—
Andy J. Semotiuk,
Forbes,
12 Mar. 2025
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The escape comes one week after gun suspect Eric Cruz managed to slip away from a cop watching him at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Columbia in Manhattan and run off while still wearing a hospital gown.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
11 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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With the dwarfs and bandits by her side, Snow White vows to reclaim her parents’ home and restore peace to her impoverished kingdom.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA TODAY,
21 Mar. 2025
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The homes are part of an ambitious five-year plan, announced in 2021, to build 50,000 additional apartments in Pyongyang, where residents’ quality of life is considerably higher than elsewhere in the impoverished country.—
Oscar Holland,
CNN,
19 Mar. 2025
Noun
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With the exception of a lull on the 16th, strong wind has been the norm around here since last week.—
Matthew Adams,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
19 Mar. 2025
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There’s a bit of a lull in the dining room as Lira scans the tables.—
Cindy Carcamo,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Break.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/break. Accessed 29 Mar. 2025.
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