Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

Thesaurus

break

noun

Synonyms and Antonyms of break

1 a momentary halt in an activity
  • The band came back on stage after a short break.
Synonyms of break

breath, breather, interruption, lull, pause, recess
Words Related to break

time-out

interim, interlude, intermission, interval, respite, rest

cessation, discontinuance, downtime, ending, expiration, finishing, hitch, lapse, stoppage, stopping, termination

abeyance, moratorium, surcease, suspension

discontinuity, gap, hiatus
Near Antonyms of break

continuation, endurance, persistence, progress, progression

extension, prolongation
2 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 winter break.
Synonyms of break

leave, recess, vacation
Words Related to break

sabbatical

furlough, liberty

breather, relaxation, respite, rest

interim, intermission, interval

feast, holy day, legal holiday

idling, loafing, lounging, slacking
3 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 of break

breach, discontinuity, gap, gulf, hiatus, hole, interstice, interval, opening, rent, rift, separation, void
Words Related to break

chink, cleft, crack, cranny, crevice, fissure

notch, slit, slot, split

interspace, pore

abyss, aperture, cavity, chasm, gape, orifice

fracture, rupture, severance, sundering
4 a favorable combination of circumstances, time, and place
  • In classic fashion, her big break came when, as an understudy, she took over for an ailing star.
Synonyms of break

chance, occasion, opening, opportunity, room, shot
Words Related to break

play, way

juncture, pass
5 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 of break

fluke, strike
Words Related to break

accident, chance, circumstance, hap, happenchance, happenstance, hazard, luck
Phrases Synonymous with break

stroke of luck
6 the act or an instance of getting free from danger or confinement
  • a desperate break from prison
Synonyms of break

breakout, escape, flight, getaway, lam, rout, slip
Words Related to break

jailbreak

deliverance, liberation, redemption, release, rescue, salvation

close call, close shave, near miss
Near Antonyms of break

captivity, confinement, immurement, imprisonment, incarceration, internment

custody, detention, hold, holding, retention

endangerment, hazard, imperilment, jeopardy, peril, risk, trouble

break

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of break

1 to cause to separate into pieces usually suddenly or forcibly
  • I hated telling her that I had broken her favorite glass vase.
Synonyms of break

break up, bust, dismember, disrupt, fracture, fragment, rive
Words Related to break

atomize, crush, grind, powder, pulverize, reduce

blast, blow up, burst, detonate, explode

crack, pop, shatter, shiver, smash

chip, sliver, splinter, split

implode

destroy, ruin, wreck
Near Antonyms of break

doctor, fix, heal, mend, patch, rebuild, recondition, reconstruct, renovate, repair
2 to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end
  • The final vote broke the deadlock.
Synonyms of break

break off, break up, can [slang], cease, cut off, cut out, desist (from), discontinue, drop, end, give over, halt, knock off, lay off, leave off, pack (up or in), quit, shut off, stop
Words Related to break

complete, conclude, finish

close (down)

deactivate

block, blockade, dam, delay, detain, hinder, hold, hold back, impede, kibosh, obstruct, stem

call, suspend

arrest, brake, check, clamp down, rein (in), squash, squelch, stamp, stanch (or staunch), stunt, suppress, turn back

pause, stay, suspend
Phrases Synonymous with break

have done with, put the kibosh on
Near Antonyms of break

carry on, continue, follow through (with), keep up, run on

advance, proceed, progress
3 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 of break

bust, degrade, demote, disrate, downgrade, reduce
Words Related to break

can, cashier, dismiss, downsize, fire, lay off, sack

abase, debase, demean, humble, humiliate, lower
Near Antonyms of break

hire
Antonyms of break

advance, elevate, promote, raise
4 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 of break

crack, decipher, decode, decrypt
Words Related to break

descramble, unscramble

render, translate

dope (out), figure out, puzzle (out), solve, unravel, unriddle, work, work out
Near Antonyms of break

garble, jumble (up), mix (up)
Antonyms of break

cipher, code, encipher, encode, encrypt
5 to come to a temporary halt in one's activity
  • She broke from her ruminations to find that it was already dinnertime.
Synonyms of break

pause
Words Related to break

hesitate

break in, interrupt

cease, discontinue, end, finish, stop, terminate

knock off, lay off, quit

lapse, let up
Phrases Synonymous with break

catch one's breath, hold one's horses
Near Antonyms of break

continue, persist

advance, progress

extend, prolong, stretch
6 to cut into and turn over the sod of (a piece of land) using a bladed implement
  • Farmers once broke fields with horse-drawn plows.
Synonyms of break

furrow, plow
Words Related to break

cultivate, till

fallow

harrow, hoe, list, rake, rototill
7 to fail to keep
  • had broken his promise not to share their conversation with anyone
Synonyms of break

breach, contravene, fracture, infringe (on or upon), offend, traduce, transgress, violate
Words Related to break

disobey, rebel

blow off, brush (off), disregard, flout, ignore, neglect, overlook, overpass, pass over, slight, tune out, wink (at)

dismiss, pooh-pooh (also pooh), scorn, shrug off

defy, resist, withstand
Near Antonyms of break

defer (to), serve, submit (to), surrender (to), yield (to)

attend, hear, heed, listen (to), mark, note, notice, regard, watch
Antonyms of break

comply (with), conform (to), follow, mind, obey, observe
8 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 of break

answer, crack, dope (out), figure out, puzzle (out), resolve, riddle (out), solve, unravel, unriddle, work, work out
Words Related to break

conclude, decide, deduce, gather, infer, judge, reason

clear (up), iron out, straighten (out), unscramble, untangle, untie

assume, conjecture, divine, guess, presume, speculate

decipher, decode
9 to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
  • I broke a tooth on the hard candy
Synonyms of break

blemish, bloody, compromise, crab, cripple, cross (up), damage, deface, disfigure, endamage, flaw, harm, hurt, impair, injure, mar, spoil, vitiate
Words Related to break

deteriorate, enervate, enfeeble, undermine, weaken

erode, scour, wash out, wear (away)

blight, tarnish

dent, ding, dint

botch, gum (up), queer

lacerate, wound

disable, hamstring, lame, maim, mangle, mutilate, torment, torture

annihilate, bang up, bash, batter, clobber, crush, dash, decimate, demolish, desolate, destroy, devastate, do in, pulverize, raze, ruin, scourge, shatter, smash, tear down, total, waste, wipe out, wreck
Near Antonyms of break

cure, heal, help, rectify, rehabilitate, remedy

edit, remodel, revise

ameliorate, better, enhance, enrich, improve, meliorate, perfect, refine
Antonyms of break

doctor, fix, mend, patch, rebuild, recondition, reconstruct, renovate, repair, revamp
10 to stop functioning
  • After working for 30 years, the pump simply broke one day.
Synonyms of break

break down, conk (out), crash, cut out, die, fail, give out, stall
Words Related to break

fizzle, sputter, wheeze

act up, malfunction

jam
Antonyms of break

start (up)
11 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 of break

bolt, flee, fly, hightail (it), retreat, run, run away, run off, skedaddle
Words Related to break

abscond, clear out, decamp, elope, escape, get (away), get out, light out, make off, scat, scram, skip (out), skirr
Phrases Synonymous with break

beat a retreat, beat it, make tracks, turn tail
Near Antonyms of break

beard, brave, confront, dare, defy, face

abide, dwell, hang around, linger, remain, stay, stick around, tarry
12 to use up all the physical energy of
  • The trek up the mountain just about broke me.
Synonyms of break

burn out, bust, do in, do up, drain, exhaust, fatigue, frazzle, harass, kill, knock out, outwear, tire, tucker (out), wash out, wear, wear out, weary
Words Related to break

debilitate, enervate, enfeeble, sap, waste, weaken
Phrases Synonymous with break

wear to a frazzle
Near Antonyms of break

activate, energize, invigorate, rejuvenate, strengthen, vitalize

relax, rest, unwind
13 to become known
  • The story broke just yesterday.
Synonyms of break

circulate, come out, get about, get around, get out, get round, leak (out), out, spread
Words Related to break

develop, transpire, unfold

disclose, reveal, spill, tell
Near Antonyms of break

hush (up), suppress

conceal, disguise, hide, mask

secrete
14 to cause to lose one's fortune and become unable to pay one's debts
  • Another bad investment could break him.
Synonyms of break

bankrupt, bust, ruin
Words Related to break

beggar, impoverish, pauperize

reduce, straiten

clean (out), wipe out
Near Antonyms of break

enrich, richen
15 to come into existence
  • The crisis had passed, and a new day was breaking.
Synonyms of break

actualize, appear, arise, begin, commence, dawn, engender, form, materialize, originate, set in, spring, start
Words Related to break

be, breathe, exist, live, subsist

arrive, come on, emerge

coalesce, cohere, shape (up)

continue, endure, last, persist, survive
Near Antonyms of break

conclude, desist, discontinue, finish, halt, quit, terminate

disappear, dissolve, evaporate, vanish

depart, die, expire, pass away, perish
Antonyms of break

cease, end, stop
16 to depart abruptly from a straight line or course
  • The running back broke to his left before running out of bounds.
Synonyms of break

cut, sheer, swerve, veer, yaw, zag, zig
Words Related to break

skew, slew (also slue)

arc, arch, bend, bow, crook, curve, hook, round, sweep, wheel

about-face, pivot

circle, coil, curl, loop, spiral

turn, twist, wind

weave, zigzag

deviate, stray, wander, waver
Antonyms of break

straighten
17 to diminish the price or value of
  • distressing economic news that will break many energy stocks
Synonyms of break

attenuate, cheapen, depreciate, depress, devaluate, devalue, downgrade, lower, mark down, reduce, sink, write down, write off
Words Related to break

debase, demonetize

underestimate, underprice, underrate, undervalue

abridge, compress, contract, de-escalate, deflate, downsize, dwindle, lessen, moderate, shrink
Near Antonyms of break

bloat, blow up, inflate

overestimate, overprice, overrate, overvalue
Antonyms of break

appreciate, enhance, mark up, upgrade
18 to go beyond the limit of
  • The temperature tomorrow might break the previous record.
Synonyms of break

exceed, outreach, outrun, overpass, overreach, overrun, overshoot, overstep, surpass, transcend
Words Related to break

encroach, entrench (also intrench), infringe, invade, trespass

overdo, overuse, overutilize, overwork
19 to penetrate the surface (as of water) from below
  • Dolphins were breaking all around the boat.
Synonyms of break

broach, surface
Words Related to break

emerge, rise
Near Antonyms of break

dive, drop, drown, founder, plunge, sink, submerge, submerse

Learn More about break

  1. See words that rhyme with break Dictionary: Definition of break Medical Dictionary: Definition of break Spanish Central: Translation of break Nglish: Translation of break for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of break for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about break

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up break? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games