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.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

This add-on ensures information shared between the casino and players is safe from data breaches. —Sponsored Content, The Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2024

Microsoft seems to realize that its recent breaches have sparked a public relations crisis. —Eric Geller, WIRED, 15 Apr. 2024

With public image hits, product recalls, supply chain disruptions, internal conflicts, and cybersecurity breaches, business owners face vulnerabilities on every front. —Paul Fitzgerald, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2024

The state has labeled it a level 2 breach risk - a designation in the middle of the three-prong scale that means there is potential for dam failure. —CBS News, 11 Apr. 2024

As breaches become more common, be in the know Was your health data exposed in a hack? —Brenna Gauchat, The Arizona Republic, 10 Apr. 2024

Just one week after US federal agencies said Microsoft's corporate culture is to blame for its lackluster security practices and past breaches, a new Microsoft security issue has been reported. —Kate Irwin, PCMAG, 10 Apr. 2024

Ryan is the 37th Missouri resident to be charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach. —Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 10 Apr. 2024

Some also pointed to a breach of Glas’s right to asylum. —Marlon Sorto, CNN, 8 Apr. 2024

Verb

In light of Sunday’s remarks, opposition leaders are calling for the Election Commission of India (ECI) to investigate whether Modi’s speech breaches its code of conduct. —Armani Syed, TIME, 22 Apr. 2024

Clearly, there has to be a way to manage the influx to better protect U.S. borders and coastlines, and the people seeking to breach them. —Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Apr. 2024

That was when Hamas breached Israel’s southern border to attack, abduct, and kill more than a thousand people, and Israel responded with an invasion that has left tens of thousands of Gaza Palestinians dead and hundreds of thousands homeless and hungry. —Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Apr. 2024

Hall was on a research trip in Jordan on October 7th of last year, when Hamas militants breached the fence that surrounded Gaza, murdered twelve hundred people, and took more than two hundred back to Gaza as hostages. —Keith Gessen, The New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2024

The project, the judge found, breaches the long-standing agreement as the Cardinals and Tourism Authority never permitted Glendale to make any changes to the site, referred to as the Black Lot. —Shawn Raymundo, The Arizona Republic, 11 Apr. 2024

In addition to the felony charge, José Hilario Abreu, 28, is facing two counts of endangering the welfare of children and breaching a duty of care creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to a child aged 6 and younger – all second-degree felonies. —Emily Palmer, Peoplemag, 8 Apr. 2024

Religious police tend to ramp up their presence during Ramadan, activists note, which ends later this week, patrolling the streets more visibly and staking out at popular eateries – sometimes in disguise – to catch those breaching the rules. —Heather Chen, CNN, 8 Apr. 2024

After the dam embankment in Orsk was breached, Putin ordered Emergencies Minister Alexander Kurenkov to visit the area and has held several online meetings with governors of the affected regions, including Orenburg, Kurgan and Tyumen. —CNN, 9 Apr. 2024

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

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