1
as in invaded
to enter a house or building by force usually with illegal intent
the burglars broke in by smashing a window
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in interrupted
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 broken in
Their leather shaft molds to your ankle once they’re broken in, too.
—
Sian Babish, PEOPLE, 8 Nov. 2025
The downtrend that extended from the March highs was just broken in late September — something has changed.
—Jay Woods, CNBC, 31 Oct. 2025
One of the miracles of the fire is that the cedars did survive, mostly intact except for a few limbs that were broken in the fierce winds.
—Tribune News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Oct. 2025
Chris talks about being broken in every possible way a person can be.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2025
Louisville’s equipment staff arrives with 10-12 balls broken in and ready for game use, as well as a host of other balls used in pregame that aren’t for game use.
—David Ubben, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Davidson said Cline had surgery to repair her jaw which was broken in three places and was discharged from the hospital a couple of days ago and is recovering at her home in Kentucky.
—Craig Shoup, Nashville Tennessean, 26 Sep. 2025
Hypersonic missiles capable of flying well in excess of five times the speed of sound promise to revolutionize warfare and aviation in general in a manner not seen since the sound barrier was broken in 1947.
—New Atlas, 24 Sep. 2025
Having started reasonably well, her serve then started letting her down and she was broken in three straight service games to fall behind in the match.
—Ben Church, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2025
Sian Babish, PEOPLE, 8 Nov. 2025
The downtrend that extended from the March highs was just broken in late September — something has changed.
—Jay Woods, CNBC, 31 Oct. 2025
One of the miracles of the fire is that the cedars did survive, mostly intact except for a few limbs that were broken in the fierce winds.
—Tribune News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Oct. 2025
Chris talks about being broken in every possible way a person can be.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2025
Louisville’s equipment staff arrives with 10-12 balls broken in and ready for game use, as well as a host of other balls used in pregame that aren’t for game use.
—David Ubben, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Davidson said Cline had surgery to repair her jaw which was broken in three places and was discharged from the hospital a couple of days ago and is recovering at her home in Kentucky.
—Craig Shoup, Nashville Tennessean, 26 Sep. 2025
Hypersonic missiles capable of flying well in excess of five times the speed of sound promise to revolutionize warfare and aviation in general in a manner not seen since the sound barrier was broken in 1947.
—New Atlas, 24 Sep. 2025
Having started reasonably well, her serve then started letting her down and she was broken in three straight service games to fall behind in the match.
—Ben Church, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for broken in
Verb
-
After Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, Cheney coordinated with international allies and led planning for Operation Desert Storm.—
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
-
In the final round of the game, Morgan’s new alliance invaded Annabelle’s group and took most of their resource points.—
Kaleb Demerew,
The Conversation,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Seven of the past 11 days of racing at the Vuelta were cut short or interrupted because Spain's government estimated more than 100,000 people were on the streets in Madrid during the final stage in September.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
9 Nov. 2025
-
Thousands of people working at overseas bases in Europe have had their salaries interrupted since the shutdown began almost six weeks ago.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
9 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
An 88-year-old Seattle woman was hospitalized with serious injuries after a man violently assaulted and robbed her, biting off her finger and stealing her jewelry, police say.—
Sophia Compton,
FOXNews.com,
8 Nov. 2025
-
Cases in which Black people were scammed, robbed, or even killed evaporated in court because of the testimony law.—
Equal Justice Initiative,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
This is the level of cuts in CAP water that Arizona originally proposed to take under most hydrological circumstances after 2027, unless farmers in western Arizona agree to take some of the burden off the CAP — which they are not obligated to do.—
Austin Corona,
AZCentral.com,
10 Nov. 2025
-
Meanwhile, there was more buzz about a recession and job cuts in October that have been the highest in 22 years.—
Paul Bedard,
The Washington Examiner,
8 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Broken in.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/broken%20in. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share