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break |
7 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: 6. That which has been publicly achieved in any kind of competitive sport as recorded in some authoritative manner, as the time made by a winning horse in a race. {Court of record} (pron. r?*k?rd" in Eng.), a court whose acts and judicial proceedings are written on parchment or in books for a perpetual memorial. {Debt of record}, a debt which appears to be due by the evidence of a court of record, as upon a judgment or a cognizance. {Trial by record}, a trial which is had when a matter of record is pleaded, and the opposite party pleads that there is no such record. In this case the trial is by inspection of the record itself no other evidence being admissible. --Blackstone. {To beat}, or {break}, {the record} (Sporting), to surpass any performance of like kind as authoritatively recorded; as to break the record in a walking match. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Break \Break\, v. t. [imp. {broke}, (Obs. {Brake}); p. p. {Broken}, (Obs. {Broke}); p. pr & vb n. {Breaking}.] [OE. breken, AS brecan; akin to OS brekan, D. breken, OHG. brehhan G. brechen, Icel. braka to creak, Sw braka, br["a]kka to crack, Dan. br[ae]kke to break, Goth. brikan to break, L. frangere Cf {Bray} to pound, {Breach}, {Fragile}.] 1. To strain apart; to sever by fracture; to divide with violence; as to break a rope or chain; to break a seal; to break an axle; to break rocks or coal; to break a lock. --Shak. 2. To lay open as by breaking; to divide; as to break a package of goods. 3. To lay open as a purpose; to disclose, divulge, or communicate. Katharine break thy mind to me --Shak. 4. To infringe or violate, as an obligation, law, or promise. Out out hyena! these are thy wonted arts . . . To break all faith, all vows, deceive, betray. --Milton 5. To interrupt; to destroy the continuity of to dissolve or terminate; as to break silence; to break one's sleep; to break one's journey. Go release them Ariel; My charms I'll break, their senses I'll restore. --Shak. 6. To destroy the completeness of to remove a part from as to break a set 7. To destroy the arrangement of to throw into disorder; to pierce; as the cavalry were not able to break the British squares. 8. To shatter to pieces; to reduce to fragments. The victim broke in pieces the musical instruments with which he had solaced the hours of captivity. --Prescott. 9. To exchange for other money or currency of smaller denomination; as to break a five dollar bill. 10. To destroy the strength, firmness, or consistency of as to break flax. 11. To weaken or impair, as health, spirit, or mind. An old man, broken with the storms of state. --Shak. 12. To diminish the force of to lessen the shock of as a fall or blow. I'll rather leap down first and break your fall. --Dryden. 13. To impart, as news or information; to broach; -- with to and often with a modified word implying some reserve; as to break the news gently to the widow; to break a purpose cautiously to a friend. 14. To tame; to reduce to subjection; to make tractable; to discipline; as to break a horse to the harness or saddle. ``To break a colt.'' --Spenser. Why, then thou canst not break her to the lute? --Shak. 15. To destroy the financial credit of to make bankrupt; to ruin. With arts like these rich Matho, when he speaks, Attracts all fees, and little lawyers breaks. --Dryden. 16. To destroy the official character and standing of to cashier; to dismiss. I see a great officer broken. --Swift. Note: With prepositions or adverbs: {To break down}. a To crush; to overwhelm; as to break down one's strength; to break down opposition. b To remove, or open a way through by breaking; as to break down a door or wall. {To break in}. a To force in as to break in a door. b To train; to discipline; as a horse well broken in {To break of}, to rid of to cause to abandon; as to break one of a habit. {To break off}. a To separate by breaking; as to break off a twig. b To stop suddenly; to abandon. ``Break off thy sins by righteousness.'' --Dan. iv 27. {To break open}, to open by breaking. ``Open the door, or I will break it open.'' --Shak. {To break out}, to take or force out by breaking; as to break out a pane of glass. {To break out a cargo}, to unstow a cargo, so as to unload it easily. {To break through}. a To make an opening through as as by violence or the force of gravity; to pass violently through as to break through the enemy's lines; to break through the ice. b To disregard; as to break through the ceremony. {To break up}. a To separate into parts to plow (new or fallow ground). ``Break up this capon.'' --Shak. ``Break up your fallow ground.'' --Jer. iv 3. b To dissolve; to put an end to ``Break up the court.'' --Shak. {To break} one {all up}, to unsettle or disconcert completely; to upset. [Colloq.] Note: With an immediate object: {To break the back}. a To dislocate the backbone; hence to disable totally. b To get through the worst part of as to break the back of a difficult undertaking. {To break bulk}, to destroy the entirety of a load by removing a portion of it to begin to unload; also to transfer in detail, as from boats to cars. {To break cover}, to burst forth from a protecting concealment, as game when hunted. {To break a deer} or {stag}, to cut it up and apportion the parts among those entitled to a share. {To break fast}, to partake of food after abstinence. See {Breakfast}. {To break ground}. a To open the earth as for planting; to commence excavation, as for building, siege operations, and the like as to break ground for a foundation, a canal, or a railroad. b Fig.: To begin to execute any plan c (Naut.) To release the anchor from the bottom. {To break the heart}, to crush or overwhelm one with grief. {To break a house} (Law), to remove or set aside with violence and a felonious intent any part of a house or of the fastenings provided to secure it {To break the ice}, to get through first difficulties; to overcome obstacles and make a beginning; to introduce a subject. {To break jail}, to escape from confinement in jail, usually by forcible means {To break a jest}, to utter a jest. ``Patroclus . . . the livelong day breaks scurril jests.'' --Shak. {To break joints}, to lay or arrange bricks, shingles, etc., so that the joints in one course shall not coincide with those in the preceding course. {To break a lance}, to engage in a tilt or contest. {To break the neck}, to dislocate the joints of the neck. {To break no squares}, to create no trouble. [Obs.] {To break a path}, {road}, etc., to open a way through obstacles by force or labor. {To break upon a wheel}, to execute or torture, as a criminal by stretching him upon a wheel, and breaking his limbs with an iron bar; -- a mode of punishment formerly employed in some countries. {To break wind}, to give vent to wind from the anus. Syn: To dispart; rend; tear; shatter; batter; violate; infringe; demolish; destroy; burst; dislocate. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Break \Break\, v. i. 1. To come apart or divide into two or more pieces, usually with suddenness and violence; to part to burst asunder. 2. To open spontaneously, or by pressure from within, as a bubble, a tumor, a seed vessel, a bag. Else the bottle break, and the wine runneth out --Math. ix 17. 3. To burst forth; to make its way to come to view; to appear; to dawn. The day begins to break, and night is fled. --Shak. And from the turf a fountain broke, and gurgled at our feet. --Wordsworth. 4. To burst forth violently, as a storm. The clouds are still above; and while I speak, A second deluge o'er our head may break. --Dryden. 5. To open up to be scattered; to be dissipated; as the clouds are breaking. At length the darkness begins to break. --Macaulay. 6. To become weakened in constitution or faculties; to lose health or strength. See how the dean begins to break; Poor gentleman! he droops apace. --Swift. 7. To be crushed, or overwhelmed with sorrow or grief; as my heart is breaking. 8. To fall in business; to become bankrupt. He that puts all upon adventures doth oftentimes break, and come to poverty. --Bacn. 9. To make an abrupt or sudden change; to change the gait; as to break into a run or gallop. 10. To fail in musical quality; as a singer's voice breaks when it is strained beyond its compass and a tone or note is not completed, but degenerates into an unmusical sound instead. Also to change in tone, as a boy's voice at puberty. 11. To fall out to terminate friendship. To break upon the score of danger or expense is to be mean and narrow-spirited. --Collier. Note: With prepositions or adverbs: {To break away}, to disengage one's self abruptly; to come or go away against resistance. Fear me not man; I will not break away --Shak. {To break down}. a To come down by breaking; as the coach broke down b To fail in any undertaking. He had broken down almost at the outset. --Thackeray. {To break forth}, to issue; to come out suddenly, as sound, light, etc ``Then shall thy light break forth as the morning.'' --Isa. lviii 8; Note: often with into in expressing or giving vent to one's feelings. ``Break forth into singing, ye mountains.'' --Isa. xliv. 23. {To break from}, to go away from abruptly. This radiant from the circling crowd he broke. --Dryden. {To break into}, to enter by breaking; as to break into a house. {To break in upon}, to enter or approach violently or unexpectedly. ``This, this is he softly awhile; let us not break in upon him.'' --Milton. {To break loose}. a To extricate one's self forcibly. ``Who would not finding way break loose from hell?'' --Milton. b To cast off restraint, as of morals or propriety. {To break off}. a To become separated by rupture, or with suddenness and violence. b To desist or cease suddenly. ``Nay, forward, old man; do not break off so.'' --Shak. {To break off from}, to desist from to abandon, as a habit. {To break out}. a To burst forth; to escape from restraint; to appear suddenly, as a fire or an epidemic. ``For in the wilderness shall waters break out and stream in the desert.'' --Isa. xxxv. 6 b To show itself in cutaneous eruptions; -- said of a disease. c To have a rash or eruption on the akin; -- said of a patient. {To break over}, to overflow; to go beyond limits. {To break up}. a To become separated into parts or fragments; as the ice break up in the rivers; the wreck will break up in the next storm. b To disperse. ``The company breaks up.'' --I. Watts. {To break upon}, to discover itself suddenly to to dawn upon {To break with}. a To fall out to sever one's relations with to part friendship. ``It can not be the Volsces dare break with us.'' --Shak. ``If she did not intend to marry Clive, she should have broken with him altogether.'' --Thackeray. b To come to an explanation; to enter into conference; to speak. [Obs.] ``I will break with her and with her father.'' --Shak. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Break \Break\ ( [1913 Webster]), n. [See {Break}, v. t., and cf {Brake} (the instrument), {Breach}, {Brack} a crack.] 1. An opening made by fracture or disruption. 2. An interruption of continuity; change of direction; as a break in a wall; a break in the deck of a ship. Specifically: a (Arch.) A projection or recess from the face of a building. b (Elec.) An opening or displacement in the circuit, interrupting the electrical current. 3. An interruption; a pause; as a break in friendship; a break in the conversation. 4. An interruption in continuity in writing or printing, as where there is an omission, an unfilled line etc All modern trash is Set forth with numerous breaks and dashes. --Swift. 5. The first appearing, as of light in the morning; the dawn; as the break of day the break of dawn. 6. A large four-wheeled carriage, having a straight body and calash top with the driver's seat in front and the footman's behind. 7. A device for checking motion, or for measuring friction. See {Brake}, n. 9 & 10. 8. (Teleg.) See {Commutator}. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: break n 1: some occurrence that interrupts; "the telephone is an annoying interruption"; "there was a break in the action when a player was hurt" [syn: {interruption}, {abrupt change}] 2: an unexpected piece of good luck; "he finally got his big break" [syn: {good luck}, {happy chance}] 3: (geology) a fracture in the earth's crust with displacement of one side with respect to the other "they built it right on the San Andreas fault" [syn: {fault}, {geological fault}, {fault line}, {fracture}] 4: a personal or social separation (as between opposing factions); "they hoped to avoid a break in relations" [syn: {rupture}, {breach}, {severance}, {rift}, {falling out}] 5: a pause from doing something (as work); "we took a 10-minute break"; "he took time out to recuperate" [syn: {respite}, {recess}, {time out}] 6: the act of breaking something "the breakage was unavoidable" [syn: {breakage}, {breaking}] 7: a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something [syn: {pause}, {intermission}, {interruption}, {suspension}] 8: breaking of hard tissue such as bone; "it was a nasty fracture"; "the break seems to have been caused by a fall" [syn: {fracture}] 9: the occurrence of breaking; "the break in the dam threatened the valley" 10: the opening shot that scatters the balls in billiards or pool 11: (tennis) a score consisting of winning a game when your opponent was serving; "he was up two breaks in the second set" [syn: {break of serve}] 12: an act of delaying or interrupting the continuity; "it was presented without commercial breaks" [syn: {interruption}, {disruption}, {gap}] 13: a sudden dash; "he made a break for the open door" 14: any frame in which a bowler fails to make a strike or spare; "the break in the eighth frame cost him the match" [syn: {open frame}] 15: an escape from jail; "the breakout was carefully planned" [syn: {breakout}, {jailbreak}, {gaolbreak}, {prisonbreak}, {prison-breaking}] v 1: end prematurely; "She interrupted her pregnancy"; "break a lucky streak" [syn: {interrupt}] 2: become separated into pieces or fragments; "The figurine broke"; "The freshly baked loaf fell apart" [syn: {separate}, {split up}, {fall apart}, {come apart}] 3: render inoperable or ineffective; "You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!" 4: ruin completely; "He busted my radio!" [syn: {bust}] [ant: {repair}] 5: destroy the integrity of usually by force; cause to separate into pieces or fragments; "He broke the glass plate"; "She broke the match" 6: act in disregard of laws and rules "offend all laws of humanity"; "violate the basic laws or human civilization"; "break a law" [syn: {transgress}, {offend}, {infract}, {violate}, {go against}, {breach}] 7: move away or escape suddenly; "The horses broke from the stable"; "Three inmates broke jail" [syn: {break out}, {break away}] 8: scatter or part "The clouds broke after the heavy downpour" 9: force out or release suddenly and often violently something pent up "break into tears"; "erupt in anger" [syn: {burst}, {erupt}] 10: prevent completion; "stop the project"; "break the silence" [syn: {break off}, {discontinue}, {stop}] 11: enter someone's property in an unauthorized manner, usually with the intent to steal or commit a violent act "Someone broke in while I was on vacation"; "They broke into my car and stole my radio!" [syn: {break in}] 12: make submissive, obedient, or useful, as of wild animals or new items: "The horse was tough to break"; used metaphorically for people [syn: {break in}] 13: fail to agree with be in violation of as of rules or patterns; "He violated the agreement to stay away from his ex-wife"; "You are breaking the law!" [syn: {violate}, {go against}] [ant: {conform to}] 14: surpass in excellence; "She bettered her own record"; "break a record" [syn: {better}] 15: make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret; "The aution house would not disclose the price at which the van Gogh had sold"; "The actress won't reveal how old she is"; "bring out the truth"; "he broke the news to her" [syn: {disclose}, {let on}, {bring out}, {reveal}, {discover}, {expose}, {declare}, {divulge}, {impart}, {give away}, {let out}] 16: come into being "light broke over the horizon"; "Voices broke in the air" 17: stop operating or functioning; "The engine finally went"; "The car died on the road"; "The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town"; "The coffe maker broke"; "The engine failed on the way to town" [syn: {fail}, {give way}, {die}, {give out}, {conk out}, {go}, {break down}] 18: interrupt a continued activity; "She had broken with the traditional patterns" [syn: {break away}] 19: make a rupture in the ranks of the enemy or one's own by quitting or fleeing (military usage); "The ranks broke" 20: curl over and fall apart in surf or foam, of waves; "The surf broke" 21: lessen in force or effect; "soften a shock"; "break a fall" [syn: {dampen}, {damp}, {soften}, {weaken}] 22: be broken in "If the new teacher won't break, we'll add some stress" 23: come to an end "The heat wave finally broke yesterday" 24: vary or interrupt a uniformity or continuity; "The flat plain was broken by sharply mesas" 25: cause to give up a habit; "She finally broke herself of smoking cigarettes" 26: give up: "break cigarette smoking" 27: come forth or begin from a state of latency; "The first winter storm broke over New York" 28: happen or take place "Things have been breaking pretty well for us in the past few months" (informal) 29: cause the failure or ruin of "His peccadilloes finally broke his marriage"; "This play will either make or break the playwright" [ant: {make}] 30: invalidate by judicial action "The will was broken" 31: stop or interrupt; "He broke the engagement"; "We had to break our plans for a trip to China" 32: divide into pieces, as by bending or cutting; "break the loaf of bread"; "break the crackers" 33: discontinue an association or relation; go different ways; "The business partners broke over a tax question"; "The couple separated after 25 years of marriage"; "My friend and I split up" [syn: {separate}, {part}, {split up}, {split}, {break up}] 34: assign to a lower position; reduce in rank; "She was demoted because she always speaks up" [syn: {demote}, {bump}, {relegate}, {kick downstairs}] [ant: {promote}] 35: reduce to bankruptcy; "My daughter's fancy wedding is going to break me!" [syn: {bankrupt}, {ruin}] 36: change directions suddenly 37: emerge from the surface, as of fish in water; "The whales broke" 38: break down literally or metaphorically; "The wall collapsed"; "The business collapsed"; "The dam broke"; "The roof collapsed"; "The wall gave in"; "The roof finally gave under the weight of the ice" [syn: {collapse}, {fall in}, {cave in}, {give}, {give way}, {founder}] 39: do a break dance; "Kids were break-dancing at the street corner" [syn: {break dance}, {break-dance}] 40: exchange for smaller units of money; "I had to break a $100 bill just to buy the candy" 41: destroy the completeness of a set of related items; "The book dealer would not break the set" [syn: {break up}] 42: make the opening shot that scatters the balls, in billiards or pool 43: separate from a clinch, in boxing; "The referee broke the boxers" 44: go to pieces; "The lawn mower finally broke"; "The gears wore out"; "The old chair finally fell apart completely" [syn: {wear}, {wear out}, {bust}, {fall apart}] 45: break a piece from a whole; "break a branch from a tree" [syn: {break off}, {snap off}] 46: pierce the surface of "The fish broke the water" 47: become punctured or penetrated: "The skin broke" 48: pierce or penetrate; "The blade broke her skin" 49: be released or become known of news "News of her death broke in the morning" [syn: {get out}, {get around}] 50: cease an action temporarily; "We pause for station identification"; "let's break for lunch" [syn: {pause}, {intermit}] 51: interrupt the flow of current in "break a circuit" 52: undergo breaking; "The simple vowels broke in many Germanic languages" 53: find a flaw in: "break an alibi" 54: find the solution or key to "break the code" 55: change suddenly from one tone quality or register to another; "Her voice broke to a whisper when she started to talk about her children" 56: stop and wait, as if awaiting further instructions or developments; "Hold on a moment!"; "We broke at noon" [syn: {hold on}, {stop}] 57: happen, as of an event; "Report the news as it develops" [syn: {develop}] 58: become fractured; break or crack on the surface only; "The glass cracked when it was heated" [syn: {crack}, {check}] 59: of the male voice in puberty; "his voice is breaking--he should no longer sing in the choir" 60: fall sharply; "stock prices broke" 61: fracture a bone of: "I broke my foot while playing hockey" [syn: {fracture}] 62: diminish or discontinue abruptly; "The patient's fever broke last night" 63: weaken or destroy in spirit or body; "For a hero loves the world till it breaks him"--Yeats From Jargon File (4.2.3, 23 NOV 2000) [jargon]: break 1. vt To cause to be {broken} (in any sense). "Your latest patch to the editor broke the paragraph commands." 2. v. (of a program) To stop temporarily, so that it may debugged. The place where it stops is a `breakpoint'. 3. [techspeak] vi To send an RS-232 break (two character widths of line high) over a serial comm line 4. [Unix] vi To strike whatever key currently causes the tty driver to send SIGINT to the current process. Normally, break (sense 3), delete or {control-C} does this 5. `break break' may be said to interrupt a conversation (this is an example of verb doubling). This usage comes from radio communications, which in turn probably came from landline telegraph/teleprinter usage, as badly abused in the Citizen's Band craze a few years ago. From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (13 Mar 01) [foldoc]: break 1. To cause to be {broken} (in any sense). "Your latest patch to the editor broke the paragraph commands." 2. (Of a program) To stop temporarily, so that it may debugged. The place where it stops is a "{breakpoint}". 3. To send an {EIA-232} break (two character widths of line high) over a {serial line}. 4. [Unix] To strike whatever key currently causes the tty driver to send SIGINT to the current process. Normally, break, delete or {control-C} does this 5. "break break" may be said to interrupt a conversation (this is an example of verb doubling). This usage comes from radio communications, which in turn probably came from landline telegraph/teleprinter usage, as badly abused in the Citizen's Band craze a few years ago. 6. {pipeline break}. [{Jargon File}]
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