1
: the act or action of breaking in
a rash of break-ins at the new apartment house
2
: a performance or a series of performances serving as a trial run
3
: an initial period of operation during which working parts begin to function efficiently
broke in; broken in; breaking in; breaks in
1
: to enter something (such as a building or computer system) without consent or by force
2
a
: intrude
break in upon his privacy
b
: to interrupt a conversation
3
: to start in an activity or enterprise
breaking in as a cub reporter
1
: to accustom to a certain activity or occurrence
break in the new clerk
2
: to overcome the stiffness or newness of
break in a pair of shoes
Examples of break-in in a Sentence
Verb
the burglars broke in by smashing a window
he rudely broke in to drop the names of several celebrities that he had met
Recent Examples on the Web
Adeola Adeosun, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Nov. 2025
Officers also connected the woman to a break-in at Famous Footwear and the theft of a $90 pair of shoes.
—Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 28 Nov. 2025
Julia Moore, PEOPLE, 5 Dec. 2025
In 2021 after five years without a break in the case, the FBI announced a new possibility for a motive.
—Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 4 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for break-in
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Noun
What To Know Lopez discovered the break-in after spending the Thanksgiving holiday with family, finding her bedroom ransacked and Rocky missing.
—Adeola Adeosun, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Nov. 2025
Officers also connected the woman to a break-in at Famous Footwear and the theft of a $90 pair of shoes.
—Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 28 Nov. 2025
Verb
News broke in December last year that the revival series had been greenlit, and would see Cranston, 69, and Muniz reunite, alongside Kaczmarek, Berfield and Christopher Masterson.
—Julia Moore, PEOPLE, 5 Dec. 2025
In 2021 after five years without a break in the case, the FBI announced a new possibility for a motive.
—Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 4 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for break-in
Cite this Entry
“Break-in.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/break-in. Accessed 7 Dec. 2025.
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