break room

noun

variants or less commonly breakroom

ˈbrāk-ˌrüm 

-ˌru̇m

plural break rooms also breakrooms

: a room in a workplace where an employee can go for a short period of rest or refreshment

At lunchtime I ordered pizza for the staff and we all ate together, somewhat stiffly, in the break room.

—Heidi Julavits

Bumping into each other in the breakroom or chatting in the elevator sometimes leads to unexpected collaboration and creative solutions.

—Elizabeth Baskin

Examples of break room in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Unlike gray walls which can generate a sort of calm coziness, gray carpet has a propensity for making a room feel cold and generic—think office break room. —Marisa Suzanne Martin, The Spruce, 7 Mar. 2026

Two open trays of roasted peanuts were left uncovered and two bags of rice were left open in the employee break room. —Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado, Sacbee.com, 27 Feb. 2026

Artificial intelligence may dominate the conversation in boardrooms and break rooms alike—but a new Google report suggests most workers still haven’t adopted the technology en masse. —Preston Fore, Fortune, 19 Feb. 2026

No one is relying on — or even expecting — apple crisp in the break room. —Judith Martin, Mercury News, 11 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1956, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for break room

• assume
• backroom
• ballroom
• barroom
• bathroom
• bedroom
• boardroom
• bridegroom
• classroom
• cloakroom
• consume
• costume