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Definition of "break" []

  • To cause to separate into pieces suddenly or violently; smash. (verb-transitive)
  • To divide into pieces, as by bending or cutting: break crackers for a baby. (verb-transitive)
  • To separate into components or parts: broke the work into discrete tasks. (verb-transitive)
  • To snap off or detach: broke a twig from the tree. (verb-transitive)
  • To fracture a bone of: I broke my leg. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "break" in a sentence
  • "In some poems, the circumstances under which they are written will be the only introduction necessary, as in the case of _Break, break, break_ or _The Recessional_."
  • "The eye alone would never detect the exquisite music of such a poem as _Hide and Seek_, Third Reader, p. 50, or _Break, break, break_, p. 201."
  • "* @param string $break The line is broken using the optional break parameter."