01 v. t. To strain apart; to sever by fracture; to divide with violence; as, to break a rope or chain; to break a seal; to break an axle; to break r…
imp.
broke; p. p.
Broken; p. pr. & vb. n.
Breaking
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1.
To strain apart; to sever by fracture; to divide with violence; as, to break a rope or chain; to break a seal; to break an axle; to break rocks or coal; to break a lock.[Obs.]
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2.
To lay open as by breaking; to divide; as, to break a package of goods.
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3.
To lay open, as a purpose; to disclose, divulge, or communicate.“Katharine, break thy mind to me.” — Shak.
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4.
To infringe or violate, as an obligation, law, or promise.“Out, out, hyena! these are thy wonted arts . . . To break all faith, all vows, deceive, betray.” — Milton
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5.
To interrupt; to destroy the continuity of; to dissolve or terminate; as, to break silence; to break one's sleep; to break one's journey.“Go, release them, Ariel; My charms I'll break, their senses I'll restore.” — Shak.
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6.
To destroy the completeness of; to remove a part from; as, to break a set.
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7.
To destroy the arrangement of; to throw into disorder; to pierce; as, the cavalry were not able to break the British squares.
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8.
To shatter to pieces; to reduce to fragments.“The victim broke in pieces the musical instruments with which he had solaced the hours of captivity.” — Prescott.
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9.
To exchange for other money or currency of smaller denomination; as, to break a five dollar bill.
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10.
To destroy the strength, firmness, or consistency of; as, to break flax.
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11.
To weaken or impair, as health, spirit, or mind.“An old man, broken with the storms of state.” — Shak.
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12.
To diminish the force of; to lessen the shock of, as a fall or blow.“I'll rather leap down first, and break your fall.” — Dryden.
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13.
To impart, as news or information; to broach; -- with to, and often with a modified word implying some reserve; as, to break the news gently to the widow; to break a purpose cautiously to a friend.
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14.
To tame; to reduce to subjection; to make tractable; to discipline; as, to break a horse to the harness or saddle.“Why, then thou canst not break her to the lute?” — Shak.
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15.
To destroy the financial credit of; to make bankrupt; to ruin.“With arts like these rich Matho, when he speaks, Attracts all fees, and little lawyers breaks.” — Dryden.
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16.
To destroy the official character and standing of; to cashier; to dismiss.“I see a great officer broken.” — Swift.
Phrases & compounds
To break down —
To crush; to overwhelm; as, to break down one's strength; to break down opposition.
To break in —
To force in; as, to break in a door.
To break of —
to rid of; to cause to abandon; as, to break one of a habit.
To break off —
To separate by breaking; as, to break off a twig.
To break open —
to open by breaking.
To break out —
to take or force out by breaking; as, to break out a pane of glass.
To break out a cargo —
to unstow a cargo, so as to unload it easily.
To break through —
To make an opening through, as, as by violence or the force of gravity; to pass violently through; as, to break through the enemy's lines; to break through the ice.
To break up —
To separate into parts; to plow (new or fallow ground).
To break —
to unsettle or disconcert completely; to upset.
To break the back —
To dislocate the backbone; hence, to disable totally.
To break bulk —
to destroy the entirety of a load by removing a portion of it; to begin to unload; also, to transfer in detail, as from boats to cars.
To break a code —
to discover a method to convert coded messages into the original understandable text.
To break cover —
to burst forth from a protecting concealment, as game when hunted.
To break a deer [or] stag —
to cut it up and apportion the parts among those entitled to a share.
To break fast —
to partake of food after abstinence. See Breakfast.
To break ground —
To open the earth as for planting; to commence excavation, as for building, siege operations, and the like; as, to break ground for a foundation, a canal, or a railroad.
To break the heart —
to crush or overwhelm (one) with grief.
To break a house —
to remove or set aside with violence and a felonious intent any part of a house or of the fastenings provided to secure it.
To break the ice —
to get through first difficulties; to overcome obstacles and make a beginning; to introduce a subject.
To break jail —
to escape from confinement in jail, usually by forcible means.
To break a jest —
to utter a jest.
To break joints —
to lay or arrange bricks, shingles, etc., so that the joints in one course shall not coincide with those in the preceding course.
To break a lance —
to engage in a tilt or contest.
To break the neck —
to dislocate the joints of the neck.
To break no squares —
to create no trouble.
To break a path, road, —
to open a way through obstacles by force or labor.
To break upon a wheel —
to execute or torture, as a criminal by stretching him upon a wheel, and breaking his limbs with an iron bar; -- a mode of punishment formerly employed in some countries.
To break wind —
to give vent to wind from the anus.