| • |
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. |
| • |
To lay open as by breaking; to divide; as, to break a
package of goods. |
| • |
To lay open, as a purpose; to disclose, divulge, or
communicate. |
| • |
To infringe or violate, as an obligation, law, or
promise. |
| • |
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. |
| • |
To destroy the completeness of; to remove a part from;
as, to break a set. |
| • |
To destroy the arrangement of; to throw into disorder; to
pierce; as, the cavalry were not able to break the British squares. |
| • |
To shatter to pieces; to reduce to fragments. |
| • |
To exchange for other money or currency of smaller
denomination; as, to break a five dollar bill. |
| • |
To destroy the strength, firmness, or consistency of; as,
to break flax. |
| • |
To weaken or impair, as health, spirit, or mind. |
| • |
To diminish the force of; to lessen the shock of, as a
fall or blow. |
| • |
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. |
| • |
To tame; to reduce to subjection; to make tractable; to
discipline; as, to break a horse to the harness or saddle. |
| • |
To destroy the financial credit of; to make bankrupt; to
ruin. |
| • |
To destroy the official character and standing of; to
cashier; to dismiss. |
| • |
To come apart or divide into two or more pieces, usually
with suddenness and violence; to part; to burst asunder. |
| • |
To open spontaneously, or by pressure from within, as a
bubble, a tumor, a seed vessel, a bag. |
| • |
To burst forth; to make its way; to come to view; to
appear; to dawn. |
| • |
To burst forth violently, as a storm. |
| • |
To open up; to be scattered; to be dissipated; as, the
clouds are breaking. |
| • |
To become weakened in constitution or faculties; to lose
health or strength. |
| • |
To be crushed, or overwhelmed with sorrow or grief; as,
my heart is breaking. |
| • |
To fall in business; to become bankrupt. |
| • |
To make an abrupt or sudden change; to change the gait;
as, to break into a run or gallop. |
| • |
To fail in musical quality; as, a singer's voice breaks
when it is strained beyond its compass and a tone or note is not
completed, but degenerates into an unmusical sound instead. Also, to
change in tone, as a boy's voice at puberty. |
| • |
To fall out; to terminate friendship. |
| • |
An opening made by fracture or disruption. |
| • |
An interruption of continuity; change of direction; as, a
break in a wall; a break in the deck of a ship. |
| • |
A projection or recess from the face of a building. |
| • |
An opening or displacement in the circuit, interrupting
the electrical current. |
| • |
An interruption; a pause; as, a break in friendship; a
break in the conversation. |
| • |
An interruption in continuity in writing or printing, as
where there is an omission, an unfilled line, etc. |
| • |
The first appearing, as of light in the morning; the
dawn; as, the break of day; the break of dawn. |
| • |
A large four-wheeled carriage, having a straight body and
calash top, with the driver's seat in front and the footman's behind. |
| • |
A device for checking motion, or for measuring friction.
See Brake, n. 9 & 10. |
| • |
See Commutator. |
Verified Answer