1
as in invading
to enter a house or building by force usually with illegal intent
the burglars broke in by smashing a window
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in interrupting
to cause a disruption in a conversation or discussion
he rudely broke in to drop the names of several celebrities that he had met
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of breaking in
At left guard and left tackle, the offense is breaking in a second-year player who’s a former tackle and a rookie in San Diego’s Josh Simmons, who last played a regular-season game in October.
—
Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2025
And also, at the exact same moment, your heart is breaking in half because one day, lots of days, actually, your child is going to go out and enjoy that absolutely beautiful, mind-blowing, magical world.
—Heidi Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2025
Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2025
And also, at the exact same moment, your heart is breaking in half because one day, lots of days, actually, your child is going to go out and enjoy that absolutely beautiful, mind-blowing, magical world.
—Heidi Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for breaking in
Verb
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That’s why his firm offers privacy-first, non-intrusive monitoring — no screenshots, no keystroke logging — using only numerical signals to reveal productivity trends without invading personal privacy.—
Kolawole Samuel Adebayo,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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Channeling history, Putin has staked a key part of his pretext for invading Ukraine on the claim that neo-Nazi ideology was gaining ground in the neighboring state also viewed as the next potential frontier for NATO expansion.—
Tom O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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When the material is loaded up with pain killers and/or anti-inflammatory drugs, they would be released as the hydrogel softens, interrupting the pain pathway and bringing relief to patients.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
10 Sep. 2025
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The only problem is that interrupting people’s work and putting them in a room together doesn’t do anything positive for your culture by itself.—
Joe Moglia,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Caroline conveniently grows a conscience right around the time when the couple starts robbing banks in earnest.—
Vikram Murthi,
IndieWire,
6 Sep. 2025
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Drummond has served prison time for robbing a convenience store and threatening to go after jurors.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
6 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Breaking in.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breaking%20in. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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