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

Ma said during the ribbon cutting event that fake ceilings had obscured the building’s skylights and there was only one break room. —Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 23 Mar. 2026

Jake heard the news in the break room at work and almost immediately began a long-winded email to Tom. —Olivia Krupp, Vanity Fair, 19 Mar. 2026

This points in the direction of a city decision to retrofit an employees’ break room at City Hall to record podcasts, a decision that did not sit well with some employees. —Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 18 Mar. 2026

Plans call for a spacious customer service center, a bus driver break room and a tidy courtyard with benches and patio umbrellas. —Rachel Swan, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 Mar. 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