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

Always On, Always Working Is No Longer The Norm Gen Z isn’t looking for ball pits in the foyer, beer on tap on the rooftop deck, or cereal bars in the break room. —Colleen Batchelder, Forbes.com, 12 May 2025

Mark bolts, and Helly runs after him, leaving Dylan to wander the break room alone. —Erin Qualey, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2025

At least five Turkestan cockroaches were on the floor beneath an orange table inside the side employee break room. —Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 18 Apr. 2025

The outreach event on this day was more like a family gathering, with over 200 of Kohler’s colleagues inside the courthouse break room. —Rosa Flores, CNN Money, 29 Mar. 2025

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