Synonyms of break
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as in to disrupt 
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as in to stop
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as in to reduce
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as in to decipher
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as in to pause
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as in to plow
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as in to violate
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as in to solve
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as in to damage
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as in to die
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as in to retreat
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as in to wear
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as in to circulate
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as in to ruin
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as in to begin
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as in to veer
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as in to depress
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as in to exceed
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as in to surface
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as in pause
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as in vacation
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as in gap
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as in opportunity
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as in accident
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as in escape
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Example Sentences
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Phrases Containing
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Related Articles
1
as in to disrupt
to cause to separate into pieces usually suddenly or forcibly
hated telling her that I had broken her favorite glass vase
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2
as in to stop
to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end
the final vote broke the deadlock
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3
as in to reduce
to bring to a lower grade or rank
the captain was broken to lieutenant commander for disobeying a direct order from his group commander
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4
as in to decipher
to change (as a secret message) from code into ordinary language
Alan Turing and the Bletchley Park mathematicians broke the Enigma code being used by the Nazis
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5
as in to pause
to come to a temporary halt in one's activity
she broke from her ruminations to find that it was already dinnertime
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6
7
as in to violate
to fail to keep
had to confess that he had broken his promise not to share their conversation with anyone
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8
as in to solve
to find an answer for through reasoning
Professor Bates broke the problem when she realized that it was possible to synthesize the necessary compounds
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9
as in to damage
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
I broke a tooth on the hard candy
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10
as in to die
to stop functioning
after working for 30 years, the pump simply broke one day
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11
as in to retreat
to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening
the herd of gazelles broke when they saw the lions racing toward them from the ridge above
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12
as in to wear
to use up all the physical energy of
the trek up the mountain just about broke me
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13
as in to circulate
to become known
as soon as the scandal broke, the CEO fled the country
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14
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as in to begin
to come into existence
the crisis had passed, and a new day was breaking
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16
as in to veer
to depart abruptly from a straight line or course
the running back broke to his left before running out of bounds
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17
as in to depress
to diminish the price or value of
distressing economic news that will break many energy stocks
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18
as in to exceed
to go beyond the limit of
a menu with prices that is likely to break the budgets of all but the wealthiest of diners
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1
as in pause
a momentary halt in an activity
there was a brief break after the first movement as the doors to the concert hall were opened and the latecomers were allowed in
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2
as in vacation
a period during which the usual routine of school or work is suspended
most of the students at the boarding school are going home for Christmas break
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3
as in gap
an open space in a barrier (as a wall or hedge)
the rancher repaired the break in the fence where the horse had gotten through
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4
5
as in accident
an unexpected benefit or advantage resulting from the uncertain course of events
a guy who just seems to get all the breaks in life
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6
as in escape
the act or an instance of getting free from danger or confinement
a desperate break from that hellhole
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Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of break
Ciara McCarthy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Nov. 2025
News broke of their split in June 2025.
—Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 10 Nov. 2025
Brian Anthony Hernandez, PEOPLE, 9 Nov. 2025
Rather, Metropolitan evokes the youthful experience of being home, avoiding family, and clinging to friends during the holiday break, when responsibility remains over the horizon and your whole life is still ahead of you.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for break
Verb
The government appears to be close to reopening Monday, after eight senators broke ranks with the Democrats and backed a Republican plan to fund most federal agencies through January.
—Ciara McCarthy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Nov. 2025
News broke of their split in June 2025.
—Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 10 Nov. 2025
Noun
The segment includes a viral dance break.
—Brian Anthony Hernandez, PEOPLE, 9 Nov. 2025
Rather, Metropolitan evokes the youthful experience of being home, avoiding family, and clinging to friends during the holiday break, when responsibility remains over the horizon and your whole life is still ahead of you.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for break
Recent Examples of Synonyms for break
Verb
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The shutdown has disrupted federal operations, delayed pay for hundreds of thousands of workers, and put critical programs at risk.—
Deputy News Editor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Nov. 2025
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Senate Majority Leader John Thune quickly endorsed the deal and called the immediate vote to begin the process of approving it as the shutdown continued to disrupt flights nationwide, threaten food assistance for millions of Americans and leave federal workers without pay.—
Orianna Rosa Royle,
Fortune,
10 Nov. 2025
Verb
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On third-and-1 with seven seconds left, Schakel took the snap and tried to spike the ball, which would have stopped the clock and given his team one final play to go for the win.—
Alex Valdes,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
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Among those who do use an advisor, 26% are considering switching and 18% may stop using an advisor altogether.—
Robert Frank,
CNBC,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Tax rises would likely act as another damper on inflation by reducing consumer demand.—
Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
6 Nov. 2025
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Researchers also stressed that the synergistic effect of K+ and C3N4 co-intercalation lowers the energy barrier, reduces the electrostatic interaction, and enhances the kinetics and structural stability.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Their job was to transmit secure battlefield communications that the enemy could not decipher.—
Tim Trudell,
USA Today,
4 Nov. 2025
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While expeditions in the early 1990s deciphered crucial insights into the ship’s final moments, one expedition drew sharp criticism after a crewman’s body was found.—
Caitlin Looby,
jsonline.com,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Sally pauses her work as Marty holds court, sharing war stories from his decades as a private eye.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
5 Nov. 2025
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The outage stems from a lapse in federal funding during the shutdown that began at the end of September, which temporarily disrupted FLAG access and paused the processing of employer applications.—
Billal Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Tablets will tell drivers if streets have been pre-treated, salted or already plowed – data that will then spill into the Snowplow Tracker for the public to see.—
Patricia Gallagher Newberry,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
30 Oct. 2025
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Many had been plowed for agriculture.—
Mike Bezemek,
Outside,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In August 2024, the Hales Corners Library Board voted unanimously to keep the books in the library's circulation and concluded Lewis-Lane and library staff did not violate library policies.—
Adrienne Davis,
jsonline.com,
5 Nov. 2025
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But Comey's attorneys raised separate concerns that by using those materials at all, the government may have violated Comey's rights -- not just by reviewing potentially privileged information, but also by revisiting evidence obtained by warrants that would now be considered stale.—
Alexander Mallin,
ABC News,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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For example, in ecological matters, the only way to solve the problem is to continue advancing technologically.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Nov. 2025
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But the show’s primary perspective also seems to be that Kingstown’s problems are so impossible to solve that only someone like Mike — with no official affiliation — can mitigate against the worst possible outcome.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
9 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Break.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/break. Accessed 12 Nov. 2025.
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