breach

noun \ ˈbrēch \

|Updated on: 15 Aug 2018

Examples: breach in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Into the breech or the breach?

Definition of breach

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

See breach defined for English-language learners

See breach defined for kids

Examples of breach in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples of breach from the Web

The timeline listed in the indictment matches up with what the state publicly acknowledged about a data breach in 2016.

— chicagotribune.com, "Illinois elections board 'very likely' named in Mueller indictment of Russian hackers, officials say," 13 July 2018
The athletic apparel company alerted customers Thursday about a possible data breach on its U.S. website.

— bloomberg, latimes.com, "Adidas data breach may have hit millions of customers," 28 June 2018
The monarch remained seated in her chair for the exchange and clearly didn't seem to mind about the protocol breach.

— kayla keegan, Good Housekeeping, "When Meeting Queen Elizabeth, Susan Sarandon Broke Royal Protocol in a Notable Way," 27 June 2018
And think about how different the context would’ve been if Facebook had to notify people about the breach.

— recode staff, Recode, "Full transcript: Silicon Valley Congressman Ro Khanna on Recode Decode," 15 June 2018
And this came after a CNBC sizzle reel included a clip of Sheryl Sandberg talking about Facebook’s breach of trust with its users.

— New York Times, "NBC Tries to Dazzle Advertisers With Jennifer Lopez and Simon Cowell," 14 May 2018
The company has also set up a hotline people can call with any questions or concerns about the breach.

— connor sheets, AL.com, "Data breach could impact some patients of medical lab chain with Alabama locations," 22 Apr. 2018
Most recently, the city fined Uber $3.5 million after the company failed to disclose an October 2016 security breach that affected more than 1,000 drivers in Oregon and tens of millions of accounts worldwide.

— elliot njus, OregonLive.com, "Uber says it's sorry for 'missteps' in Portland," 16 Apr. 2018
Zuckerberg admits Facebook didn't do enough to protect users after finding out about the Cambridge Analytica breach.

— julyssa lopez, Glamour, "5 Things We Learned From Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook Hearing," 11 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'breach.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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.

Origin and Etymology of breach

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 ¹break

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

breach Synonyms

breach

verb

Definition of breach

breached; breaching; breaches

transitive verb

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

breached the castle wall

2 : break, violate

breach an agreement

intransitive verb

: to leap out of water

a whale breaching

See breach defined for English-language learners

Examples of breach in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples of breach from the Web

Daniels set up an online crowdfunding collection in March to cover her legal bills, security costs and any damages she might be ordered to pay Trump for breaching the confidentiality pact.

— michael finnegan, latimes.com, "Stormy Daniels' crowdfunding cash could be seized in Avenatti firm bankruptcy," 13 June 2018
In 2015, Gurkha officers fired at a car that breached four roadblocks and crashed into a concrete barrier.

— annabelle liang, The Christian Science Monitor, "Singapore seen as natural choice for US-North Korea summit," 11 May 2018
The district, which learned about Einstein's practices from a parent last August, sued Einstein last November for breaching its contract with OPSB.

— wilborn p. nobles iii, NOLA.com, "Einstein escapes revocation process after charter hires school buses," 23 Apr. 2018
This was Stormy’s chance to take her case to the widest American public, to clear her name and tell her truth, even at the risk of being penalized for breaching her non-disclosure agreement (and possibly even at risk to her personal safety).

— rhonda garelick, The Cut, "Stormy Daniels’s Boring Interview Was Actually Brilliant," 26 Mar. 2018
Last week, Trump’s new lawyer, Charles Harder, of Hulk Hogan-versus-Gawker fame, threatened a $20 million lawsuit against Daniels for supposedly breaching her nondisclosure agreement, but that didn’t seem to stop the 60 Minutes broadcast either.

— joe hagan, The Hive, "“The President May Be Able to Fire Mueller, but He Can’t Fire Me”: Stormy Daniels’s Attorney Relishes His Role as Trump Nemesis du Jour," 23 Mar. 2018
In 1997 under Meals, the Statesman ran a three-day series of editorials calling for breaching four dams on the Snake River to save salmon.

— idahostatesman, "About Us: 150 Years of News and Change | Idaho Statesman," 1 Aug. 2015
Spain come up against a Russian side who despite losing their final group game to Uruguay, found the net eight times at the tournament so far and will try to add to that tally against a Spanish defence who have already been breached five times.

— SI.com, "Spain Sweat Over Gerard Pique's Fitness for Russia Match After He Suffers a Collision in Training," 1 July 2018
Then, police heard a gunshot and tried to breach the door, unsure if the man had shot himself.

— keri blakinger, Houston Chronicle, "Man with gas mask, 'lots of weapons' sparks hours-long SWAT standoff," 3 June 2018

Origin and Etymology of breach

derivative of ¹breach

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1547

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

breach Synonyms

Synonyms

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

Antonyms

comply (with), conform (to), follow, mind, obey, observe;

Near Antonyms

defer (to), serve, submit (to), surrender (to), yield (to);

attend, hear, heed, listen (to), mark, note, notice, regard, watch;

Related Words

disobey, rebel;

blow off, brush (off), disregard, flout, ignore, neglect, overlook, overpass, pass over, slight, tune out, wink (at);

dismiss, pooh-pooh (also pooh), scorn, shrug off;

defy, resist, withstand;

BREACH Defined for English Language Learners

breach

verb

Definition of breach for English Language Learners

: to fail to do what is required by (something, such as a law or agreement) : to break or violate (something)
: to make a hole or opening in (something)

BREACH Defined for Kids

breach

noun \ ˈbrēch \

Definition of breach for Students

1 : a failure to act in a promised or required way

a breach of contract

2 : an opening made by breaking

a breach in the dam

breach

verb

Definition of breach for Students

breached; breaching

1 : to fail to do as promised or required by

breach an agreement

2 : to make a break in

Law Dictionary

breach

noun \ ˈbrēch \

legal Definition of breach

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)

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breach

verb

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breacher

noun

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breach

Definition of breach

Examples of breach in a Sentence

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Into the breech or the breach?

Origin and Etymology of breach

breach Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

breach

Definition of breach

Examples of breach in a Sentence

Recent Examples of breach from the Web

Origin and Etymology of breach

breach Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Phrases Related to BREACH

Related Phrases

BREACH Defined for English Language Learners

breach

Definition of breach for English Language Learners

BREACH Defined for Kids

breach

Definition of breach for Students

breach

Definition of breach for Students

Law Dictionary

breach

legal Definition of breach

breach

breacher

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