broken in

past participle of break in
1
as in invaded
to enter a house or building by force usually with illegal intent the burglars broke in by smashing a window

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in interrupted
to cause a disruption in a conversation or discussion he rudely broke in to drop the names of several celebrities that he had met

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for broken in
Verb
  • In October, Israeli ground troops invaded southern Lebanon after a year of fighting with Hezbollah militants.
    Josef Federman, Los Angeles Times, 25 Dec. 2024
  • Golfers invaded all courses remaining open.
    Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 24 Dec. 2024
Verb
  • His wife, Ivana, worries for their three young children and complains that her morning sleep is sometimes interrupted.
    Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2025
  • On New Year’s Day, Peters’ Christmas holiday was interrupted by a source sending him a letter from Jess Phillips, the UK government’s safeguarding minister, stating that Labour had rejected calls to hold a national inquiry into grooming gangs.
    Jake Kanter, Deadline, 8 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • The man had been robbed, and his credit card had been used all over town.
    Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 23 Dec. 2024
  • Mother and daughter attacked, robbed over parking space dispute at Citadel Outlets.
    Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2024
Verb
  • Despite being cut in half, Florida’s Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability still watchdogs state programs.
    Pat Beall, Orlando Sentinel, 2 Mar. 2025
  • Trump proposed substantial spending cuts in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid in every single one of his budgets as president, the Washington Post reported last year.
    Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2025
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.

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Broken in.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/broken%20in. Accessed 9 Mar. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!