break

Often used for things that stop for good, such as agreements, ties, careers, and organized action. Distinguish from sense 6: after sense 6, the activity normally continues later.

Usually takes a measurable result as its object, such as a time, score, number, or total. Common in sports, business, and news reports.

The object is usually a law, rule, promise, or formal agreement. Distinguish from sense 2: this sense is about failing to obey the thing, not making it end completely.

Common with 'into' before the new parts or groups. Distinguish from sense 1: sense 5 organizes or separates, while sense 1 usually involves damage.

Often followed by 'for' plus food, rest, or another short purpose. Distinguish from sense 2: this sense describes a pause, and the activity is expected to continue afterward.

Usually followed by a particle or preposition such as into, through, past, or free from. Distinguish from sense 1 (DAMAGE): sense 7 is about forced movement or entry, not about something splitting into pieces.

Often used without an object for losing control under pressure, and with a human object for destroying morale or resolve. Distinguish from sense 15 (VOICE): here the whole person loses control or courage; in sense 15 only the voice changes.

The intransitive subject is usually news, a story, a scandal, or word of an event. In the transitive pattern, the subject is often a journalist, paper, station, or person giving important news first.

The subject is usually wave, sea, surf, or foam, and the place comes after against, on, over, or along. Distinguish from sense 1 (DAMAGE): here the wave curls and falls, even if nothing is harmed.

Usually used after a spell of fine weather and often followed by details of rain, wind, or colder air. Distinguish from sense 12 (STORM): sense 11 is about the general weather turning bad, not the sudden start of one storm.

Most often followed by over + place, naming the area the storm starts hitting. Distinguish from sense 11 (WEATHER): sense 12 names one storm beginning, while sense 11 describes the weather turning bad more generally.

Subject is normally a time word such as 'dawn' or 'day'. Distinguish from verb/12, where the thing that starts is a storm, not the coming of morning light.

Used for the natural voice change of adolescent boys. Distinguish from verb/15, where the voice changes because the speaker is upset.

Usually happens when a speaker is close to tears, shocked, or overwhelmed. Distinguish from verb/14, which refers to a lasting change in a boy's voice during puberty.

Often appears with 'serve' or with the opponent as the object. The point is not winning the whole match, but taking a service game from the other player.

The subject is usually a team or attack line, not the ball itself. Common nearby words include 'quickly', 'at speed', and phrases showing where the move starts.

Usually intransitive in cue sports, often with words like 'first' or with a phrase showing position. Distinguish from verb/16, where the sport is tennis and the meaning is winning against a serve.

Mostly used in ball sports and usually followed by a direction word such as 'left', 'right', 'wide', or 'down'. Distinguish from verb/18, where the player hits the opening shot rather than the ball changing course.

Usually takes the animal as the object, and the subject is the trainer or owner. In passive use, 'the horse was broken' describes the result of that early training.

Most often named directly as an ad break or commercial break. In broadcast language, shows go to a break and come back from a break.

This sense usually means a short pause inside work, study, or travel. Distinguish from sense 5 (TIME OFF), which often lasts much longer and may mean a holiday.

Chiefly British in this school sense; American English usually says 'recess'. It often appears without 'a' or 'the': at break, during break.

Longer than sense 3 (REST PERIOD). This sense often lasts a day or more and commonly appears in phrases such as 'a break from work', 'a weekend break', or 'a city break'.

Only in the phrase 'give someone a break' when the meaning is time off from work, training, or effort. Distinguish from noun sense 7 in another chunk, where the same phrase means 'stop criticising or bothering someone'.

Mostly used in the fixed phrase 'give someone a break' or when a person asks for one. Distinguish from noun senses 1-6, where break means an interruption or time away from work.

Often appears with adjectives like big, lucky, first, or real, and with verbs such as get, catch, need. It usually refers to career progress, success, or a sudden improvement in life.

Usually appears in the plural, especially in the saying 'that's the breaks'. Distinguish from sense 8, which is a helpful chance; this sense is about accepting that events have gone badly.

Often followed by 'in' plus the damaged thing, such as a pipe, cable, bone, or wall. Distinguish from sense 11, which is about a broken relationship or pattern rather than physical damage.

Can describe both personal relationships and larger systems such as trade, order, or continuity. Distinguish from sense 12, which is the deliberate act of moving away from someone or an old way, usually with 'with'.

This sense is strongly tied to the preposition 'with'. It often suggests a conscious decision to stop following a person, habit, or policy, unlike sense 11, which can simply describe the resulting separation.

Used only in tennis. Often appears with verbs such as 'get', 'earn', or 'secure', and it contrasts with 'hold serve', where the server wins the game.

Usually followed by a number showing the score. Distinguish from sense 15 ('OPENING SHOT'), which is the first strike that starts the game, not the points scored during one turn.

Often appears with verbs like 'take', 'hit', or 'make'. Distinguish from sense 14 ('ONE TURN SCORE'): this sense names the first shot only, even if no points are scored.

Common in fast team sports such as basketball, hockey, and handball. Usually follows a steal, rebound, or turnover, and often appears in compounds like 'fast break'.

Often used with 'for' plus a door, gate, border, or open space. The image is of sudden movement, not a quiet or planned departure.

Mostly found in poetic, old-fashioned, or highly descriptive writing, usually inside fixed phrases like 'the break of day' or 'at break of day'.