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
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
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
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Recent Examples of break
Verb
There were alliances that formed and broke, romances that formed and broke, friendships that formed and broke.—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 3 May 2025 One night, however, his grandfather, Harland Rust (Alec Baldwin), a legendary aging outlaw who hasn’t been heard from for years, emerges to break his grandson out of jail and whisk him across the border.—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 2 May 2025
Noun
In another break from tradition, his burial will also not require the traditional three coffins consisting of cypress, lead and oak.—Kirsty Hatcher, People.com, 22 Apr. 2025 Harvard’s choice to fight back is a notable break from other major institutions, such as Columbia University, which in effect caved to Trump’s demands.—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 22 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for break
Commentary: Is Trump's plan for tariff relief for automakers too late to stop global impact?
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Susan Page,
USA Today,
1 May 2025
Diabetes insipidus is treated by drinking enough water to stay hydrated, and may also include taking medications or stopping or adjusting certain medications.
The generous release of Tahoe 100M is a potential turning point for deciphering cancer vulnerabilities at scale and can trigger an open-source data sharing momentum in cancer research.
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Amelia Palermo,
Forbes.com,
25 Apr. 2025
The Dallas Cowboys are one of those teams deciphering between the talents in the final stack of players, as owner and general manager Jerry Jones said on Tuesday that this is the latest that the team has ever gone without having their board in place.
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Nick Harris,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
23 Apr. 2025
After the Trump administration paused its reciprocal tariffs, we’re left, at least for now, with the baseline 10% global tariff, including on major cocoa exporters to the U.S., such as Ivory Coast, Ecuador, Ghana, the Dominican Republic and Papua New Guinea.
—
Brett Owens,
Forbes.com,
23 Apr. 2025
While Trump paused most reciprocal tariffs on foreign trading partners — minus China — his 10 percent baseline import tax is still in place.
His presence is part of the peculiar riddle that Djokovic, who turns 38 on May 22, has been trying to solve for going on two years now.
—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2025
The hedge-fund collapses and Russian debt default in the 1998 financial panic and the U.S. sovereign-debt standoff in 2011 also did not feel as if they had been solved at the point the stock market started rebounding.
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