from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Break \Break\ (br[=a]k), v. t. [imp. {broke} (br[=o]k), (Obs.
{Brake}); p. p. {Broken} (br[=o]"k'n), (Obs. {Broke}); p. pr.
& vb. n. {Breaking}.] [OE. breken, AS. brecan; akin to OS.
brekan, D. breken, OHG. brehhan, G. brechen, Icel. braka to
creak, Sw. braka, br[aum]kka to crack, Dan. br[ae]kke to
break, Goth. brikan to break, L. frangere. Cf. {Bray} to
pound, {Breach}, {Fragile}.]
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.
--Shak.
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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.
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Katharine, break thy mind to me. --Shak.
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4. To infringe or violate, as an obligation, law, or promise.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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. "To break a colt." --Spenser.
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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.
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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.
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I see a great officer broken. --Swift.
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Note: With prepositions or adverbs:
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{To break down}.
(a) To crush; to overwhelm; as, to break down one's
strength; to break down opposition.
(b) To remove, or open a way through, by breaking; as, to
break down a door or wall.
{To break in}.
(a) To force in; as, to break in a door.
(b) To train; to discipline; as, a horse well broken in.
{To break of}, to rid of; to cause to abandon; as, to break
one of a habit.
{To break off}.
(a) To separate by breaking; as, to break off a twig.
(b) To stop suddenly; to abandon. "Break off thy sins by
righteousness." --Dan. iv. 27.
{To break open}, to open by breaking. "Open the door, or I
will break it open." --Shak.
{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}.
(a) 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.
(b) To disregard; as, to break through the ceremony.
{To break up}.
(a) To separate into parts; to plow (new or fallow
ground). "Break up this capon." --Shak. "Break up
your fallow ground." --Jer. iv. 3.
(b) To dissolve; to put an end to. "Break up the court."
--Shak.
{To break} (one) {all up}, to unsettle or disconcert
completely; to upset. [Colloq.]
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Note: With an immediate object:
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{To break the back}.
(a) To dislocate the backbone; hence, to disable totally.
(b) To get through the worst part of; as, to break the
back of a difficult undertaking.
{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 {To break a 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}.
(a) 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.
(b) Fig.: To begin to execute any plan.
(c) (Naut.) To release the anchor from the bottom.
{To break the heart}, to crush or overwhelm (one) with grief.
{To break a house} (Law), 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. "Patroclus . . . the
livelong day breaks scurril jests." --Shak.
{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. [Obs.]
{To break a path}, {road}, etc., 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.
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Syn: To dispart; rend; tear; shatter; batter; violate;
infringe; demolish; destroy; burst; dislocate.
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Break \Break\ (br[=a]k), v. i.
1. To come apart or divide into two or more pieces, usually
with suddenness and violence; to part; to burst asunder.
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2. To open spontaneously, or by pressure from within, as a
bubble, a tumor, a seed vessel, a bag.
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Else the bottle break, and the wine runneth out.
--Math. ix.
17.
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3. To burst forth; to make its way; to come to view; to
appear; to dawn.
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The day begins to break, and night is fled. --Shak.
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And from the turf a fountain broke,
and gurgled at our feet. --Wordsworth.
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4. To burst forth violently, as a storm.
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The clouds are still above; and, while I speak,
A second deluge o'er our head may break. --Dryden.
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5. To open up; to be scattered; to be dissipated; as, the
clouds are breaking.
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At length the darkness begins to break. --Macaulay.
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6. To become weakened in constitution or faculties; to lose
health or strength.
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See how the dean begins to break;
Poor gentleman! he droops apace. --Swift.
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7. To be crushed, or overwhelmed with sorrow or grief; as, my
heart is breaking.
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8. To fall in business; to become bankrupt.
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He that puts all upon adventures doth oftentimes
break, and come to poverty. --Bacn.
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9. To make an abrupt or sudden change; to change the gait;
as, to break into a run or gallop.
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10. 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.
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11. To fall out; to terminate friendship.
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To break upon the score of danger or expense is to
be mean and narrow-spirited. --Collier.
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Note: With prepositions or adverbs:
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{To break away}, to disengage one's self abruptly; to come or
go away against resistance.
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Fear me not, man; I will not break away. --Shak.
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{To break down}.
(a) To come down by breaking; as, the coach broke down.
(b) To fail in any undertaking; to halt before successful
completion; as, the negotiations broke down due to
irreconcilable demands.
(c) To cease functioning or to malfunction; as, the car
broke down in the middle of the highway.
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He had broken down almost at the outset.
--Thackeray.
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{To break forth}, to issue; to come out suddenly, as sound,
light, etc. "Then shall thy light break forth as the
morning." --Isa. lviii. 8;
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Note: often with into in expressing or giving vent to one's
feelings. "Break forth into singing, ye mountains."
--Isa. xliv. 23.
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{To break from}, to go away from abruptly.
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This radiant from the circling crowd he broke.
--Dryden.
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{To break into}, to enter by breaking; as, to break into a
house.
{To break in upon}, to enter or approach violently or
unexpectedly. "This, this is he; softly awhile; let us not
break in upon him." --Milton.
{To break loose}.
(a) To extricate one's self forcibly. "Who would not,
finding way, break loose from hell?" --Milton.
(b) To cast off restraint, as of morals or propriety.
{To break off}.
(a) To become separated by rupture, or with suddenness
and violence.
(b) To desist or cease suddenly. "Nay, forward, old man;
do not break off so." --Shak.
{To break off from}, to desist from; to abandon, as a habit.
{To break out}.
(a) To burst forth; to escape from restraint; to appear
suddenly, as a fire or an epidemic. "For in the
wilderness shall waters break out, and stream in the
desert." --Isa. xxxv. 6
(b) To show itself in cutaneous eruptions; -- said of a
disease.
(c) To have a rash or eruption on the akin; -- said of a
patient.
{To break over}, to overflow; to go beyond limits.
{To break up}.
(a) To become separated into parts or fragments; as, the
ice break up in the rivers; the wreck will break up
in the next storm.
(b) To disperse. "The company breaks up." --I. Watts.
{To break upon}, to discover itself suddenly to; to dawn
upon.
{To break with}.
(a) To fall out; to sever one's relations with; to part
friendship. "It can not be the Volsces dare break
with us." --Shak. "If she did not intend to marry
Clive, she should have broken with him altogether."
--Thackeray.
(b) To come to an explanation; to enter into conference;
to speak. [Obs.] "I will break with her and with her
father." --Shak.
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