"She interrupted her pregnancy" "break a lucky streak" "break the cycle of poverty"

"The figurine broke" "The freshly baked loaf fell apart"

"You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!"

"He broke the glass plate" "She broke the match"

"He busted my radio!"

"offend all laws of humanity" "violate the basic laws or human civilization" "break a law"

"The clouds broke after the heavy downpour"

"break into tears" "erupt in anger"

"stop the project" "break the silence"

"The horses broke from the stable" "Three inmates broke jail" "Nobody can break out--this prison is high security"

: "The horse was tough to break" used metaphorically for people

"the telephone is an annoying interruption" "there was a break in the action when a player was hurt"

"Someone broke in while I was on vacation" "They broke into my car and stole my radio!"

"The auction house would not disclose the price" "She won't reveal her age" "bring out the truth" "he broke the news to her"

"She bettered her own record" "break a record"

"he finally got his big break"

"light broke over the horizon" "Voices broke in the air"

"The engine finally went" "The car died on the road" "The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town" "The coffee maker broke" "The engine failed on the way to town" "her eyesight went after the accident"

"He violated the agreement to stay away from his ex-wife" "You are breaking the law!"

"the breakage was unavoidable"

"If the new teacher won't break, we'll add some stress"

"they built it right over a geological fault"

"The surf broke"

"She had broken with the traditional patterns"

"soften a shock" "break a fall"

"they hoped to avoid a break in relations"

"we took a 10-minute break" "he took time out to recuperate"

"The ranks broke"

"The business partners broke over a tax question" "The couple separated after 25 years of marriage" "My friend and I split up"

"He broke the glass plate" "She broke the match"

"Her voice broke to a whisper when she started to talk about her children"

"His peccadilloes finally broke his marriage" "This play will either make or break the playwright"

"break the code"

"The patient's fever broke last night"

"Things have been breaking pretty well for us in the past few months" (informal)

"The simple vowels broke in many Germanic languages"

"break an alibi" "break down a proof"

"break a circuit"

"We pause for station identification" "let's break for lunch"

"stock prices broke"

: "I broke my foot while playing hockey"

"His resistance was broken" "a man broken by the terrible experience of near-death"

"The blade broke her skin"

"News of her death broke in the morning"

: "The skin broke"

"The fish broke the water"

"his voice is breaking--he should no longer sing in the choir"

"The lawn mower finally broke" "The gears wore out" "The old chair finally fell apart completely"

"break a branch from a tree"

"the break in the dam threatened the valley"

"it was presented without commercial breaks"

"the break in the eighth frame cost him the match"

"The book dealer would not break the set"

"The referee broke the boxers"

"I had to break a $100 bill just to buy the candy"

"Kids were break-dancing at the street corner"

"Report the news as it develops" "These political movements recrudesce from time to time"

"The glass cracked when it was heated"

"he was up two breaks in the second set"

"The whales broke"

"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"

"Hold on a moment!" "We broke at noon"

"break the loaf of bread" "break the crackers"

"it was a nasty fracture" "the break seems to have been caused by a fall"

"The will was broken"

"She was demoted because she always speaks up" "He was broken down to Sargeant"

"My daughter's fancy wedding is going to break me!" "The slump in the financial markets smashed him"

"The first winter storm broke over New York"

"he made a break for the open door"

: "break cigarette smoking"

"She finally broke herself of smoking cigarettes"

"The flat plain was broken by sharply mesas"

"The heat wave finally broke yesterday"

"the breakout was carefully planned"