Synonyms of breaking
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as in disrupting
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as in stopping
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as in reducing
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as in deciphering
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as in pausing
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as in plowing
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as in violating
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as in solving
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as in damaging
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as in dying
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as in retreating
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as in wearing
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as in spreading
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as in bankrupting
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as in originating
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as in veering
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as in lowering
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as in exceeding
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as in surfacing
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Example Sentences
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Phrases Containing
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Entries Near
1
as in disrupting
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 stopping
to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end
the final vote broke the deadlock
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3
as in reducing
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 deciphering
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 pausing
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
as in plowing
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
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7
as in violating
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 solving
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 damaging
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
I broke a tooth on the hard candy
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10
as in dying
to stop functioning
after working for 30 years, the pump simply broke one day
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11
as in retreating
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 wearing
to use up all the physical energy of
the trek up the mountain just about broke me
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13
as in spreading
to become known
as soon as the scandal broke, the CEO fled the country
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14
as in bankrupting
to cause to lose one's fortune and become unable to pay one's debts
another bad investment could break him
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15
as in originating
to come into existence
the crisis had passed, and a new day was breaking
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16
as in veering
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 lowering
to diminish the price or value of
distressing economic news that will break many energy stocks
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18
as in exceeding
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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19
as in surfacing
to penetrate the surface (as of water) from below
dolphins were breaking all around the boat
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of breaking
The ethics panel already determined that Cherfilus-McCormick committed 25 violations of House rules and ethical standards, including breaking campaign finance laws.
—
Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 21 Apr. 2026
In a country already running a third of global hydropower capacity, ambitious dam projects are breaking ground in China’s mountainous west, while the government has set its sights on pioneering next-generation technologies like nuclear fusion and green hydrogen.
—Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 21 Apr. 2026
Conventional homes can take 7 to 12 months to become move-in ready after breaking ground, longer if any customization is required.
—Aldo Svaldi, Denver Post, 21 Apr. 2026
To keep the parts from breaking, researchers are fine-tuning the metal to withstand constant stretching and squeezing.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 21 Apr. 2026
Strings said, referring to the throne Grohl used to perform with Foo Fighters after breaking his leg during a show in 2015.
—Matt Reigle Outkick, FOXNews.com, 21 Apr. 2026
Check back for updates on this breaking news story.
—Elijah Westbrook, CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026
Carlock and Means are masters at fourth-wall-breaking structure and winking, metatextual dialogue, and their ability to balance the goofiness of the series’ diversions with its straightforwardly heartwarming main narrative made each episode a breezy watch.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 14 Apr. 2026
Democrats are trying to pick up more ground in the state House and Senate after breaking the Republican supermajority in 2024.
—Mary Ramsey, Charlotte Observer, 14 Apr. 2026
Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 21 Apr. 2026
In a country already running a third of global hydropower capacity, ambitious dam projects are breaking ground in China’s mountainous west, while the government has set its sights on pioneering next-generation technologies like nuclear fusion and green hydrogen.
—Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 21 Apr. 2026
Conventional homes can take 7 to 12 months to become move-in ready after breaking ground, longer if any customization is required.
—Aldo Svaldi, Denver Post, 21 Apr. 2026
To keep the parts from breaking, researchers are fine-tuning the metal to withstand constant stretching and squeezing.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 21 Apr. 2026
Strings said, referring to the throne Grohl used to perform with Foo Fighters after breaking his leg during a show in 2015.
—Matt Reigle Outkick, FOXNews.com, 21 Apr. 2026
Check back for updates on this breaking news story.
—Elijah Westbrook, CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026
Carlock and Means are masters at fourth-wall-breaking structure and winking, metatextual dialogue, and their ability to balance the goofiness of the series’ diversions with its straightforwardly heartwarming main narrative made each episode a breezy watch.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 14 Apr. 2026
Democrats are trying to pick up more ground in the state House and Senate after breaking the Republican supermajority in 2024.
—Mary Ramsey, Charlotte Observer, 14 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for breaking
Verb
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The hospitality union represents roughly 2,000 workers at the arena, potentially disrupting one of the biggest sporting events in the world.—
Luzdelia Caballero,
CBS News,
18 Apr. 2026
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In such a case, if the people passing the message did not have complete control of their devices, an outsider could potentially subtly change the particles’ entanglement, disrupting the communication without leaving a trace.—
Matt von Hippel,
Quanta Magazine,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Let’s imagine—in a case of truly terrible architectural planning—that there is only one extremely slow elevator, stopping at each floor and taking one minute per floor.—
Manon Bischoff,
Scientific American,
21 Apr. 2026
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Schools brought in counselors for the victims’ young classmates and community leaders called for a citywide reckoning on stopping domestic violence.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The station initially bridged the sudden budget gap last year by reaching out to donors directly and reducing costs to bring down overhead.—
Savannah Sicurella,
AJC.com,
11 Apr. 2026
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The ship suffered substantial damage, and the Reagan administration retaliated by damaging or sinking three Iranian warships and three oil platforms, drastically reducing Tehran’s ability to engage in the gulf.—
Dalia Abdelwahab,
CNN Money,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The study creates new criteria for deciphering old dice and allows archaeologists to further explore how games have evolved over time, researchers say.—
Taylor Nicioli,
CNN Money,
8 Apr. 2026
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The clicks are part of a growing sperm whale phonetic alphabet that researchers at CETI are deciphering.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Sanchez claimed pausing the campaign was correlated with increases in preventable deaths, specifically among unvaccinated children who died from the flu.—
Arthur Jones II,
ABC News,
16 Apr. 2026
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Another hack that people sometimes use to save money is pausing (or totally canceling) one subscription, then picking up another for a bit.—
Becca Stanek,
TheWeek,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The family had installed a concrete barrier after a previous crash, a decision that may have prevented the car from plowing directly into their home.—
Tori Mason,
CBS News,
15 Apr. 2026
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While much of those duties are typical for his local office — picking up trash, plowing snow and filling potholes — the 34-year-old mayor has leaned on his knack for viral content creation to drive interest and awareness of government programs.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Josett pleaded guilty to three misdemeanors, including unauthorized computer access and fraud; annoying and repeated phone calls; and contempt of court for violating the restraining order.—
Matthew Rodriguez,
CBS News,
15 Apr. 2026
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The officer’s actions after finding the warrant, while definitely violating the spirit of the act, may actually expose some gray areas in the application of the law, said Tsao, who also works as senior policy counsel for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.—
Addison Wright,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Residents deserve leadership that is focused on solving problems, not creating them.—
Denise Horland,
Sun Sentinel,
20 Apr. 2026
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Most of the preparation for this eventuality has involved updating RSA encryption to use the Module Lattice Key Encapsulation Mechanism—typically known as ML-KEM—a PQC algorithm based on problems that quantum computers have no advantage over classical computing in solving.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Breaking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breaking. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
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