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
Escher Walcott, PEOPLE, 8 Sep. 2025
Emilie Schleer, a 37-year-old mother of two, spoke of the brazen break-in that occurred at her South End home in July, when a homeless woman squatted in her residence while her family was away for the weekend.
—Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 5 Sep. 2025
Jacob Lev, CNN Money, 5 Sep. 2025
This deeply unstable truce breaks in episode seven during the bachelor and bachelorette parties.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for break-in
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Noun
Phillips died in a police shootout on Monday, after officers were alerted to a possible break-in at a farm goods store in Poipoi in the western Waikato district, near to where he was believed to have been hiding out with his kids, CNN, Radio New Zealand (RNZ) and ABC News Australia reported.
—Escher Walcott, PEOPLE, 8 Sep. 2025
Emilie Schleer, a 37-year-old mother of two, spoke of the brazen break-in that occurred at her South End home in July, when a homeless woman squatted in her residence while her family was away for the weekend.
—Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 5 Sep. 2025
Verb
The break in the action provided an interesting dilemma for Dallas cornerback Trevon Diggs.
—Jacob Lev, CNN Money, 5 Sep. 2025
This deeply unstable truce breaks in episode seven during the bachelor and bachelorette parties.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 4 Sep. 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 8 Sep. 2025.
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