"breaking" in the noun sense
1. breakage, break, breaking
the act of breaking something
"the breakage was unavoidable"
"breaking" in the verb sense
1. interrupt, break
terminate
"She interrupted her pregnancy"
"break a lucky streak"
"break the cycle of poverty"
2. break, separate, split up, fall apart, come apart
become separated into pieces or fragments
"The figurine broke"
"The freshly baked loaf fell apart"
3. break
render inoperable or ineffective
"You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!"
4. break, bust
ruin completely
"He busted my radio!"
5. break
destroy the integrity of usually by force cause to separate into pieces or fragments
"He broke the glass plate"
"She broke the match"
6. transgress, offend, infract, violate, go against, breach, break
act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises
"offend all laws of humanity"
"violate the basic laws or human civilization"
"break a law"
"break a promise"
7. break, break out, break away
move away or escape suddenly
"The horses broke from the stable"
"Three inmates broke jail"
"Nobody can break out
8. break
scatter or part
"The clouds broke after the heavy downpour"
9. break, burst, erupt
force out or release suddenly and often violently something pent up
"break into tears"
"erupt in anger"
10. break, break off, discontinue, stop
prevent completion
"stop the project"
"break off the negotiations"
11. break in, break
enter someone's (virtual or real) property in an unauthorized manner, usually with the intent to steal or commit a violent act
"Someone broke in while I was on vacation"
"They broke into my car and stole my radio!"
"who broke into my account last night?"
12. break in, break
make submissive, obedient, or useful
"The horse was tough to break"
"I broke in the new intern"
13. violate, go against, break
fail to agree with be in violation of as of rules or patterns
"This sentence violates the rules of syntax"
14. better, break
surpass in excellence
"She bettered her own record"
"break a record"
15. unwrap, disclose, let on, bring out, reveal, discover, expose, divulge, break, give away, let out, uncover
make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret
"The auction house would not disclose the price at which the van Gogh had sold"
"The actress won't reveal how old she is"
"bring out the truth"
"he broke the news to her"
"unwrap the evidence in the murder case"
"The newspaper uncovered the President's illegal dealings"
16. break
come into being
"light broke over the horizon"
"Voices broke in the air"
17. fail, go bad, give way, die, give out, conk out, go, break, break down
stop operating or functioning
"The engine finally went"
"The car died on the road"
"The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town"
"The coffee maker broke"
"The engine failed on the way to town"
"her eyesight went after the accident"
18. break, break away
interrupt a continued activity
"She had broken with the traditional patterns"
19. break
make a rupture in the ranks of the enemy or one's own by quitting or fleeing
"The ranks broke"
20. break
curl over and fall apart in surf or foam, of waves
"The surf broke"
21. dampen, damp, soften, weaken, break
lessen in force or effect
"soften a shock"
"break a fall"
22. break
be broken in
"If the new teacher won't break, we'll add some stress"
23. break
come to an end
"The heat wave finally broke yesterday"
24. break
vary or interrupt a uniformity or continuity
"The flat plain was broken by tall mesas"
25. break
cause to give up a habit
"She finally broke herself of smoking cigarettes"
26. break
give up
"break cigarette smoking"
27. break
come forth or begin from a state of latency
"The first winter storm broke over New York"
28. break
happen or take place
"Things have been breaking pretty well for us in the past few months"
29. break
cause the failure or ruin of
"His peccadilloes finally broke his marriage"
"This play will either make or break the playwright"
30. break
invalidate by judicial action
"The will was broken"
31. separate, part, split up, split, break, break up
discontinue an association or relation go different ways
"The business partners broke over a tax question"
"The couple separated after 25 years of marriage"
"My friend and I split up"
32. demote, bump, relegate, break, kick downstairs
assign to a lower position reduce in rank
"She was demoted because she always speaks up"
"He was broken down to Sergeant"
33. bankrupt, ruin, break, smash
reduce to bankruptcy
"My daughter's fancy wedding is going to break me!"
"The slump in the financial markets smashed him"
34. break
change directions suddenly
35. break
emerge from the surface of a body of water
"The whales broke"
36. collapse, fall in, cave in, give, give way, break, founder
break down, literally or metaphorically
"The wall collapsed"
"The business collapsed"
"The dam broke"
"The roof collapsed"
"The wall gave in"
"The roof finally gave under the weight of the ice"
37. break dance, break-dance, break
do a break dance
"Kids were break-dancing at the street corner"
38. break
exchange for smaller units of money
"I had to break a $100 bill just to buy the candy"
39. break, break up
destroy the completeness of a set of related items
"The book dealer would not break the set"
40. break
make the opening shot that scatters the balls
41. break
separate from a clinch, in boxing
"The referee broke the boxers"
42. break, wear, wear out, bust, fall apart
go to pieces
"The lawn mower finally broke"
"The gears wore out"
"The old chair finally fell apart completely"
43. break, break off, snap off
break a piece from a whole
"break a branch from a tree"
44. break
become punctured or penetrated
"The skin broke"
45. break
pierce or penetrate
"The blade broke her skin"
46. break, get out, get around
be released or become known of news
"News of her death broke in the morning"
47. pause, intermit, break
cease an action temporarily
"We pause for station identification"
"let's break for lunch"
48. break
interrupt the flow of current in
"break a circuit"
49. break
undergo breaking
"The simple vowels broke in many Germanic languages"
50. break
find a flaw in
"break an alibi"
"break down a proof"
51. break
find the solution or key to
"break the code"
52. break
change suddenly from one tone quality or register to another
"Her voice broke to a whisper when she started to talk about her children"
53. break, recrudesce, develop
happen
"Report the news as it develops"
"These political movements recrudesce from time to time"
54. crack, check, break
become fractured break or crack on the surface only
"The glass cracked when it was heated"
55. break
crack of the male voice in puberty
"his voice is breaking
56. break
fall sharply
"stock prices broke"
57. fracture, break
fracture a bone of
"I broke my foot while playing hockey"
58. break
diminish or discontinue abruptly
"The patient's fever broke last night"
59. break
weaken or destroy in spirit or body
"His resistance was broken"
"a man broken by the terrible experience of near-death"
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
Princeton University "About WordNet®."
WordNet®. Princeton University. 2010.
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