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

Many were in an employee break room during a shift change when the explosion occurred, Longview Fire Department officials said. —Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 31 May 2026

This year the company sought permission from the Garden Grove planning commission to construct a new employee break room on the site. —Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2026

Performers have no backstage access and have historically changed clothes in bathrooms or the break room. —Eva Remijan-Toba, Chicago Tribune, 8 May 2026

Michelle got ready with family and close friends in the break room upstairs where Malek used to develop ice cream flavors. —Chiara Kim, PEOPLE, 7 May 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