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

Brian Ahern, a company spokesperson, declined Friday to answer questions from The Associated Press, including what information had been compromised in the breach. —Rio Yamat, Fortune, 16 Sep. 2023

The media rollout of a news-breaking biography always involves balancing control with chaos — news leaks; factual disputes; review embargoes honored in the breach. —Boris Kachka, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2023

In April, TikTok was also fined in the United Kingdom for a number of breaches of data protection law, including misusing children’s personal data. —Brian Fung, CNN, 15 Sep. 2023

Beyond monetary concerns, developers are also angry because the new pricing represents a breach of transparency Unity established with regards to its terms of service. —Ash Parrish, The Verge, 15 Sep. 2023

Wendi Whitmore, a senior vice president at the cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks, said her company is investigating multiple breaches connected to the hacker group. —Kevin Collier, NBC News, 15 Sep. 2023

Purcell repeatedly emphasized that fault for the security breach was with the third-party vendor, not Fortress Trust, or the company’s custody partners, Fireblocks or BitGo. —Ben Weiss, Fortune Crypto, 12 Sep. 2023

The court could also deem the law to be unconstitutional, amounting to a fundamental breach of Israeli democracy. —Shira Rubin, Washington Post, 11 Sep. 2023

Acknowledging the pandemic-era breaches in trust is a good first step. —Mark Suzman september 8, Foreign Affairs, 8 Sep. 2023

Verb

The incident raised questions about how Cavalcante was able to breach the search perimeter that had centered on the botanical gardens. —Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 13 Sep. 2023

And given recent warnings about China's hackers breaching power grid networks in US states and in Guam—and specifically laying the groundwork to cause blackouts there—O'Brien warns there's reason to believe China may be doing the same in this case. —Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 12 Sep. 2023

Politicians are often criticized for breaching their promises, or going back on their word. —Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2023

Compared with drug cases, for example, prosecutions involving spies and breaching classified document rules are not as common, can last for years and often result in guilty pleas before a trial. —Perry Stein, Anchorage Daily News, 10 Sep. 2023

The world is on track to breach 1.5C of warming in the near term without immediate action, according to scientists on the UN sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. —Time, 8 Sep. 2023

Tarrio was not at the Capitol on Jan. 6 but had organized Proud Boys members who were among the first to breach the building. —USA TODAY, 6 Sep. 2023

Have good antivirus protection The best way to protect yourself from having your data breached is to have antivirus protection installed on all your devices. —Kurt Knutsson, Fox News, 6 Sep. 2023

Chinese people, sometimes posing as tourists, breached U.S. military sites up to 100 times in recent years in acts of potential espionage, The Wall Street Journal reports. —David Leonhardt, New York Times, 5 Sep. 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

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

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

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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