breaking in

verb

present participle of break in
1
as in invading
to enter a house or building by force usually with illegal intent the burglars broke in by smashing a window

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in interrupting
to cause a disruption in a conversation or discussion he rudely broke in to drop the names of several celebrities that he had met

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 breaking in Just recently, a client came to us because their onboarding and user data pipeline kept breaking in ways their users could feel. — Dan Haiem, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026 Not a week goes by without news of a high-profile auction breaking in Publishers Weekly. — Literary Hub, 28 Apr. 2026 Other teams breaking in transfer quarterbacks are Illinois (Katin Houser, East Carolina), Nebraska (Anthony Colandrea, UNLV), Northwestern (Aidan Chiles, Michigan State), Penn State (Rocco Becht, Iowa State) and Wisconsin (Colton Joseph, Old Dominion). — Eric Olson, Chicago Tribune, 27 Apr. 2026 The building had kept deteriorating over the course of time, with people continually breaking in, Olson said. — Chilekasi Adele, CBS News, 13 Apr. 2026 If the matter-antimatter asymmetry arose due to a breaking of a certain cosmic symmetry at a higher energy, then restoring the symmetry could lead to that symmetry re-breaking in a different fashion. — Big Think, 5 Mar. 2026 Wild forward Nico Sturm has been breaking in his Team Germany skates at a few Minnesota practices, and joked about hiding his on-ice moves from NHL teammates that may be foes in Italy. — Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 5 Feb. 2026 Dark selvedge blue has a professional and polished edge that simultaneously conjures vintage workwear, breaking in over time. — Rosie Jarman, Vogue, 27 Jan. 2026 Frightened by the thought of breaking in your jeans? — Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 21 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for breaking in
  1. invading
  2. interrupting
  3. robbing
  4. cutting in
Verb
  • As President Whitmore, Bill Pullman gives an all-timer inspirational speech, hops in a fighter jet, and destroys invading aliens.
    — Maggie Fremont, Entertainment Weekly, 3 July 2026
  • Light eight lanterns if the British are invading by land, but running late.
    — Evan Allgood, New Yorker, 1 July 2026
Definition of invading
Verb
  • As for interrupting the flow of play, Arena says the three-minute hydration breaks FIFA has introduced each half — ostensibly for player welfare, but in practice to give the TV networks additional commercial breaks — have been more disruptive.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2026
  • The development sparked a heated back and forth between Carboy and Pecunies’ attorneys, who in court papers have accused the 9/11 Health Watch attorney of interrupting them, raising his voice and banging on the table.
    — Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 12 July 2026
Definition of interrupting
Verb
  • More than a thousand people across Europe are dead, often as a result of the fact that nighttime temperatures stayed high, robbing bodies of the chance to cope.
    — Bill McKibben, New Yorker, 9 July 2026
  • The race ended under a safety car, though, robbing fans of a sprint to the end.
    — Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 5 July 2026
Definition of robbing
Verb
  • Add shortening and continue cutting in until flour is pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal with butter bits no larger than small peas.
    — Kate Bradshaw, Mercury News, 7 July 2026
  • For Bayern Munich, Olise is the new Arjen Robben, cutting in off the right wing to get shots away.
    — Graham Ruthven, New York Times, 4 July 2026
Definition of cutting in

Browse Nearby Words

breaking free
breaking in
breaking off
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Breaking in.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breaking%20in. Accessed 15 Jul. 2026.

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