breach

1 of 2

noun

ˈbrēch 

1

: infraction or violation of a law, obligation, tie, or standard

a breach of trust

sued them for breach of contract

2

a

: a broken, ruptured, or torn condition or area

a breach of the skin

the leak was a major security breach

b

: a gap (as in a wall) made by battering

fixing a breach in the fence

once more unto the breach, dear friends, … or close the wall up with our English dead

—Shakespeare

3

a

: a break in accustomed friendly relations

caused a breach between the two countries

b

: a temporary gap in continuity : hiatus

a breach of routine

4

: a leap especially of a whale out of water

breach

2 of 2

verb

breached; breaching; breaches

transitive verb

1

: to make a gap in by battering : to make a breach (see breach entry 1 sense 2b) in

breached the castle wall

2

: break, violate

breach an agreement

intransitive verb

: to leap out of water

a whale breaching

Did you know?

Into the breech or the breach?

If you are about to provide some much-needed assistance in a situation do you get ready to step (or leap, or jump) into the breach or the breech? The former. The sense of breach this expression applies to is “a gap (as in a wall) made by battering.” Breech, on the other hand, refers most often to a part of a rifle (near the rear of the barrel), the buttocks, or short pants which cover the hips and thighs (this sense is always found used in the plural, breeches). You may, if you are in a state of undress, step into your breeches before you step into the breach, but you would never step into your breaches before stepping into the breech.

Synonyms

Noun

• contravention
• infraction
• infringement
• transgression
• trespass
• violation

Verb

• break
• contravene
• fracture
• infringe (on or upon)
• offend
• traduce
• transgress
• violate

Examples of breach in a Sentence

Noun

This is clearly a breach of the treaty.

Many people consider her decision to be a breach of trust.

The judge ruled that the doctor's actions were in breach of her contractual duty.

Verb

He claims that the city breached an agreement by selling the property.

Is he going to breach his contract?

The army breached the castle wall.

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Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

While there is an entire industry of experts who has been documenting the digital impact of cyber terrorism for decades, comparatively little has been written about the impacts of such breaches on patients. —Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Nov. 2023

Any change that puts more onus on the user to protect their security opens up more opportunities for mistakes and potential breaches. —WIRED, 16 Nov. 2023

This is even ahead of concerns around cyberattacks and data breaches, Accenture found. —Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 14 Nov. 2023

With limited visibility into tools and platforms, organizations typically can’t detect malicious activity before a breach occurs. —Shane Buckley, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023

Okta deserves credit for making the changes and providing a timeline of the events, but its assignment of responsibility for the breach makes an errant employee a scapegoat that obscures where the real fault lies. —Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 3 Nov. 2023

Adding to the mystique is Colin K. Bills’s superb lighting, which draws us into an intimate relationship with the performers while conjuring fire, homey interiors and even the breach of the fence. —Celia Wren, Washington Post, 2 Nov. 2023

In May, McCarthy and Biden reached a deal to prevent a breach of the nation’s borrowing limit with just days to spare before a potentially cataclysmic impact on financial markets. —Jeff Stein, Washington Post, 11 Nov. 2023

Harry, the younger son of King Charles, Elton John, and the other five claimants accuse ANL, which publishes the Daily Mail, and the Mail on Sunday, of phone-hacking and other serious privacy breaches dating back 30 years. —Reuters, NBC News, 10 Nov. 2023

Verb

Two of the 16 cars that derailed carried molten sulfur, which caught fire after the cars were breached, CSX said in a previous statement Wednesday. —CBS News, 23 Nov. 2023

Two other cars involved in the derailment were carrying magnesium hydroxide, but CSX said they were not breached. —Natalie Kainz, NBC News, 23 Nov. 2023

According to preliminary data, November 17, 2023, was the first day on record that this threshold was breached, and November 18, 2023, was the second day. —Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Nov. 2023

That was a brief, albeit terrifying, breach on Friday. —Justine Calma, The Verge, 20 Nov. 2023

There was truth to the notion that Chinese industry was breaching the rules of international trade. —Peter S. Goodman, New York Times, 14 Nov. 2023

Ofcom’s proposals give some clarity over what tech companies will need to do to avoid penalties for breaching the act, which could include fines of up to 10 percent of their global revenue and criminal charges for executives. —WIRED, 9 Nov. 2023

And even if Zoom and all its employees are completely trustworthy, the risk of Zoom getting breached is omnipresent. —Barath Raghavan, IEEE Spectrum, 5 Nov. 2023

An Arkansas man, accused of breaching security fences at the Oconee Nuclear Station in South Carolina, has been found and arrested, authorities confirmed Friday. —Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Fox News, 4 Nov. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English breche "act of breaking, opening in a wall, violation," probably in part continuing Old English brǣc "act of breaking" (derivative from base of brecan "to break"), in part borrowed from Anglo-French & continental Old French breche "break, gap," going back to Old Low Franconian *breka, derivative of *brekan "to break," going back to Germanic *brekan- — more at break entry 1

Verb

derivative of breach entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1547, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing breach

• a breach of the peace
• breach of contract
• breach of confidentiality
• breach of the peace
• heal the rift/breach
• breach of promise
• into the breach

• a breach of the peace
• breach of contract
• breach of confidentiality
• breach of the peace
• heal the rift/breach
• breach of promise
• into the breach

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Kids Definition

breach

1 of 2 noun

ˈbrēch 

1

: violation of a law, duty, or tie

a breach of trust

2

a

: a broken or torn condition or area

b

: a gap (as in a wall) made by breaking through

3

: a break in friendly relations

4

: a leap especially of a whale out of water

breach

2 of 2 verb

1

: to make a breach in

2

: break entry 1 sense 2, violate

breach an agreement

3

: to leap out of water

Legal Definition

breach

noun

ˈbrēch 

1

a

: a violation in the performance of or a failure to perform an obligation created by a promise, duty, or law without excuse or justification

— breach of duty

: a breach of a duty especially by a fiduciary (as an agent or corporate officer) in carrying out the functions of his or her position

— breach of trust

: a breach by a trustee of the terms of a trust (as by stealing from or carelessly mishandling the funds)

— breach of warranty

: a breach by a seller of the terms of a warranty (as by the failure of the goods to conform to the seller's description or by a defect in title)

Note: A seller may be liable for a breach of warranty even without any negligence or misconduct.

b

: failure without excuse or justification to fulfill one's obligations under a contract

called also breach of contract

compare repudiation

— anticipatory breach

: a breach of contract that occurs as a result of a party's anticipatory repudiation of the contract

— efficient breach

: breach of contract in economic theory in which it is more profitable for the breaching party to breach the contract and pay damages than to perform under the contract

— material breach

: a breach of contract that is so substantial that it defeats the purpose of the parties in making the contract and gives the nonbreaching party the right to cancel the contract and sue for damages compare substantial performance at performance

Note: Whether a breach is material is a question of fact. Under the Restatement (Second) of Contracts, a material breach gives rise to the right to suspend performance but not to cancel the contract until there is a total breach.

— partial breach

: a breach of contract in which the breaching party's nonperformance is minor and gives rise to the right to sue for damages but not to suspend performance or cancel the contract compare part performance at performance

— total breach

: a breach of contract under the Restatement (Second) of Contracts that is so substantial that it gives rise to the right to cancel the contract and sue for damages

2

a

: a violation or disturbance of something (as a law or condition)

find both the State and the minor guilty of gross breaches of the rules of procedure

—In re D.L.B., 429 N.E.2d 615 (1981)

a breach of security

especially : breach of the peace

b

: an act of breaking out

breach of prison

3

: the condition of having committed a breach of contract

—used in the phrase in breach

a terminating party who is not in breach is entitled to expenses

—C&S/Sovran Corp. v. First Fed. Sav. Bank of Brunswick, 463 S.E.2d 892 (1995)

breach verb

breacher noun