Synonyms of break
-
as in to disrupt 
-
as in to stop
-
as in to reduce
-
as in to decipher
-
as in to pause
-
as in to plow
-
as in to violate
-
as in to solve
-
as in to damage
-
as in to die
-
as in to retreat
-
as in to wear
-
as in to circulate
-
as in to ruin
-
as in to begin
-
as in to veer
-
as in to depress
-
as in to exceed
-
as in to surface
-
as in pause
-
as in vacation
-
as in gap
-
as in opportunity
-
as in accident
-
as in escape
-
Example Sentences
-
Phrases Containing
-
Entries Near
-
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to stop
to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end
the final vote broke the deadlock
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
9
as in to damage
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
I broke a tooth on the hard candy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
10
as in to die
to stop functioning
after working for 30 years, the pump simply broke one day
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
12
as in to wear
to use up all the physical energy of
the trek up the mountain just about broke me
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
13
as in to circulate
to become known
as soon as the scandal broke, the CEO fled the country
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
14
15
as in to begin
to come into existence
the crisis had passed, and a new day was breaking
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
17
as in to depress
to diminish the price or value of
distressing economic news that will break many energy stocks
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
6
as in escape
the act or an instance of getting free from danger or confinement
a desperate break from that hellhole
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of break
Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2026
Well, when you’re done breaking your back shoveling, experts recommend snowball fights and sledding.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 23 Feb. 2026
Charlie Campbell, Time, 24 Feb. 2026
The break proved to be super fruitful and fulfilling for the 20-year-old.
—Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 24 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for break
Verb
Pacquiao, 47, is 62-8-3 (39 KOs) and fought for a belt last July, losing by majority draw to then-WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios in an attempt to break his own record for oldest welterweight champion.
—Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2026
Well, when you’re done breaking your back shoveling, experts recommend snowball fights and sledding.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 23 Feb. 2026
Noun
Son’s break-up with China was first telegraphed during 2021 when Beijing’s regulatory crackdown on its tech industry caused stocks to plummet.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 24 Feb. 2026
The break proved to be super fruitful and fulfilling for the 20-year-old.
—Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 24 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for break
Recent Examples of Synonyms for break
Verb
-
While fears over how artificial intelligence models from Anthropic and OpenAI could disrupt a myriad of industries — especially software firms — have churned markets in recent weeks, the broader S&P 500 isn’t far off from its all-time record level.—
Hugh Son,
CNBC,
24 Feb. 2026
-
Authorities and witnesses reported burning vehicles, road blockades and attacks meant to disrupt security forces and restrict movement.—
Dante Motley,
Austin American Statesman,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The video, shared by the Chino Police Department, shows two vehicles stopping at a red light in front of and behind a big rig on Friday.—
Terry Castleman,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Evan Geyen stopped 20 shots in goal for Delano.—
Andrew Cornelius,
Twin Cities,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
But in the long run, that doesn’t do anything to dismantle networks of criminality or reduce the size of their operations.—
Angélica Durán-Martínez,
The Conversation,
24 Feb. 2026
-
Others have sought to use cloud seeding to disperse fog at airports, tackle air pollution, reduce hail damage or even to manipulate the weather for major events, such as the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.—
Sam Meredith,
CNBC,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Pitch tipping — the art of deciphering what might be coming based on small tells a pitcher might have — is a legal and common practice.—
Evan Drellich,
New York Times,
12 Feb. 2026
-
How fans experience the game and how referees decipher controversial calls will only get better as visual AI advances.—
Jason Corso,
Fortune,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Alan Cumming briefly paused Sunday's BAFTA Film Awards on two separate occasions to address the expletives and racial slur that Tourette's syndrome advocate John Davidson yelled during the telecast, according to reports.—
Pamela Avila,
USA Today,
23 Feb. 2026
-
Crews located five additional victims that evening, but worsening weather and avalanche conditions forced them to pause recovery operations.—
Nicole Buss,
Sacbee.com,
22 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
In Westerleigh, some streets were still clogged with thick, heavy snow, and hadn't been plowed in more than 24 hours, according to New York City's plow tracker.—
Aziza Shuler,
CBS News,
24 Feb. 2026
-
As the galaxy plows through, the force pushes against it and tears away its own gas, stretching it out into trailing tentacles.—
Ryan Brennan,
Miami Herald,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Trump originally accused the bank of trade libel and violating state and federal unfair and deceptive trade practices.—
Ken Sweet,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Feb. 2026
-
The repeal followed Congress’s zeroing out of penalties for violating Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) targets as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.—
Julian Torres,
CNN Money,
22 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Foster may have been a late addition to the roll-call of heroes who went on to deliver the first of three consecutive promotions under Hollywood ownership, having only come out of retirement in March 2023 to solve a goalkeeping crisis.—
Richard Sutcliffe,
New York Times,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Genealogy investigations have had major success stories Successfully using the DNA of distant family members to profile and narrow down suspects had an extraordinarily high-profile debut in 2018, when it was used to solve the cold case of the Golden State Killer.—
Andy Rose,
CNN Money,
19 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Break.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/break. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
