Synonyms of break
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as in to disrupt 
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as in to stop
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as in to reduce
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as in to decipher
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as in to pause
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as in to plow
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as in to violate
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as in to solve
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as in to damage
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as in to die
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as in to retreat
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as in to wear
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as in to circulate
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as in to ruin
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as in to begin
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as in to veer
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as in to depress
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as in to exceed
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as in to surface
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as in pause
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as in vacation
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as in gap
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as in opportunity
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as in accident
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as in escape
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Example Sentences
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Phrases Containing
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Related Articles
1
as in to disrupt
to cause to separate into pieces usually suddenly or forcibly
hated telling her that I had broken her favorite glass vase
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2
as in to stop
to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end
the final vote broke the deadlock
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3
as in to reduce
to bring to a lower grade or rank
the captain was broken to lieutenant commander for disobeying a direct order from his group commander
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4
as in to decipher
to change (as a secret message) from code into ordinary language
Alan Turing and the Bletchley Park mathematicians broke the Enigma code being used by the Nazis
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5
as in to pause
to come to a temporary halt in one's activity
she broke from her ruminations to find that it was already dinnertime
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6
7
as in to violate
to fail to keep
had to confess that he had broken his promise not to share their conversation with anyone
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8
as in to solve
to find an answer for through reasoning
Professor Bates broke the problem when she realized that it was possible to synthesize the necessary compounds
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9
as in to damage
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
I broke a tooth on the hard candy
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10
as in to die
to stop functioning
after working for 30 years, the pump simply broke one day
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11
as in to retreat
to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening
the herd of gazelles broke when they saw the lions racing toward them from the ridge above
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12
as in to wear
to use up all the physical energy of
the trek up the mountain just about broke me
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13
as in to circulate
to become known
as soon as the scandal broke, the CEO fled the country
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14
15
as in to begin
to come into existence
the crisis had passed, and a new day was breaking
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16
as in to veer
to depart abruptly from a straight line or course
the running back broke to his left before running out of bounds
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17
as in to depress
to diminish the price or value of
distressing economic news that will break many energy stocks
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18
as in to exceed
to go beyond the limit of
a menu with prices that is likely to break the budgets of all but the wealthiest of diners
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1
as in pause
a momentary halt in an activity
there was a brief break after the first movement as the doors to the concert hall were opened and the latecomers were allowed in
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2
as in vacation
a period during which the usual routine of school or work is suspended
most of the students at the boarding school are going home for Christmas break
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3
as in gap
an open space in a barrier (as a wall or hedge)
the rancher repaired the break in the fence where the horse had gotten through
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4
5
as in accident
an unexpected benefit or advantage resulting from the uncertain course of events
a guy who just seems to get all the breaks in life
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6
as in escape
the act or an instance of getting free from danger or confinement
a desperate break from that hellhole
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Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of break
Dr. Roshini Raj, Health, 7 Aug. 2025
Indiana Democrats lack the ability to break quorum and disrupt legislative processes, like their counterparts in Texas are currently doing, Pierce told anchor Kate Bolduan.
—Indianapolis Star, IndyStar, 7 Aug. 2025
Kyle Foley, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2025
Brazil equalised with a penalty on the stroke of half-time and took the initiative on the other side of the break, but suffered a setback due to a freak own goal.
—Neel Shelat, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for break
Verb
Because your body cannot fully break down fiber, your gut produces bacteria to break it down and ferment it.
—Dr. Roshini Raj, Health, 7 Aug. 2025
Indiana Democrats lack the ability to break quorum and disrupt legislative processes, like their counterparts in Texas are currently doing, Pierce told anchor Kate Bolduan.
—Indianapolis Star, IndyStar, 7 Aug. 2025
Noun
Ojeda found Muriel on the break and played him through to calmly place it past Necaxa goalkeeper Ezequiel Unsain as Orlando went into halftime up 4-0.
—Kyle Foley, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2025
Brazil equalised with a penalty on the stroke of half-time and took the initiative on the other side of the break, but suffered a setback due to a freak own goal.
—Neel Shelat, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for break
Recent Examples of Synonyms for break
Verb
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Indiana Democrats lack the ability to break quorum and disrupt legislative processes, like their counterparts in Texas are currently doing, Pierce told anchor Kate Bolduan.—
Indianapolis Star,
IndyStar,
7 Aug. 2025
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Usually, Alzheimer’s disease also causes personality changes, loss of appetite, and disrupted sleep.2 Sometimes, the symptoms can help a healthcare provider diagnose a person’s specific type of dementia.—
Heidi Moawad,
Verywell Health,
6 Aug. 2025
Verb
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After that the Padres, out of nowhere, just stopped hitting.—
Mike Lupica,
New York Daily News,
16 Aug. 2025
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For the the Lynx system replaced by Scout vans, buses will stop running routes on Jan. 10.—
Martin E. Comas,
The Orlando Sentinel,
16 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The Work Ethic Camp was opened in 2001 and initially designed to reduce prison overcrowding, according to a Nebraska legislative report, providing the incarcerated with life skills training, substance abuse treatment and work experience.—
Antonio Pequeño IV,
Forbes.com,
20 Aug. 2025
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The bacterium, residing harmlessly in the guts of laboratory and fetal mice, reduced accumulation of mercury, the researchers said.—
Scott Lafee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
19 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The article includes a fancy-looking formula central to the algorithm, but the formula is nearly impossible to decipher since the authors didn’t bother to explain half the symbols in it.—
Noah Giansiracusa,
Time,
7 Aug. 2025
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We’re left to decipher the difference between fact and fiction.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
10 July 2025
Verb
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Since then, the president has paused, increased and decreased those tariffs a number of times, the most recent deadline having been Aug. 1.—
Ken Roberts,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
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With that, Pratt pauses before pivoting to the topic of his next act.—
Tatiana Siegel,
Variety,
7 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Because the incremental costs of flying a partially reusable Falcon 9 are so low—perhaps as low as $15 million, by some estimates—SpaceX can plow competitors' cash into further development of Starlink or Starship.—
Eric Berger,
ArsTechnica,
11 Aug. 2025
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VCs have plowed more than $70 billion into the top 100 defense startups, which have so far secured about $29 billion total in contracts, according to a July report by the Silicon Valley Defense Group.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
30 July 2025
Verb
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The idea of making this sort of gesture, at a time when Texas Republicans are violating the spirit of the rules, is understandably hard for Democrats to consider.—
Colin Pascal,
Baltimore Sun,
16 Aug. 2025
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Any claim or suggestion that Connecticut has violated or is not in compliance with federal law is false.—
Laura Tillman,
Hartford Courant,
16 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Across Washington, there's a lot of skepticism that Trump's approach, using tough police tactics to solve complex social problems, will work.—
Brian Mann,
NPR,
12 Aug. 2025
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But there is a possibility that most of this problem is simply solved by conventional stellar physics, says Korn.—
Bruce Dorminey,
Forbes.com,
12 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Break.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/break. Accessed 23 Aug. 2025.
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