broke

Meanings

• terminate
• become separated into pieces or fragments
  • "The figurine broke"
• render inoperable or ineffective
  • "You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!"
• ruin completely
• destroy the integrity of; usually by force; cause to separate into pieces or fragments
  • "He broke the glass plate"
  • "She broke the match"
• act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises
• move away or escape suddenly
  • "The horses broke from the stable"
  • "Three inmates broke jail"
• scatter or part
  • "The clouds broke after the heavy downpour"
• force out or release suddenly and often violently something pent up
• prevent completion
• enter someone's (virtual or real) 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!"
  • "who broke into my account last night?"
• make submissive, obedient, or useful
  • "I broke in the new intern"
• fail to agree with; be in violation of; as of rules or patterns
• surpass in excellence
• make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret
  • "he broke the news to her"
• come into being
  • "light broke over the horizon"
  • "Voices broke in the air"
• stop operating or functioning
  • "The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town"
  • "The coffee maker broke"
• interrupt a continued activity
  • "She had broken with the traditional patterns"
• make a rupture in the ranks of the enemy or one's own by quitting or fleeing
  • "The ranks broke"
• curl over and fall apart in surf or foam, of waves
  • "The surf broke"
• lessen in force or effect
• be broken in
• come to an end
  • "The heat wave finally broke yesterday"
• vary or interrupt a uniformity or continuity
  • "The flat plain was broken by tall mesas"
• cause to give up a habit
  • "She finally broke herself of smoking cigarettes"
• give up
• come forth or begin from a state of latency
  • "The first winter storm broke over New York"
• happen or take place
• cause the failure or ruin of
  • "His peccadilloes finally broke his marriage"
• invalidate by judicial action
  • "The will was broken"
• discontinue an association or relation; go different ways
  • "The business partners broke over a tax question"
• assign to a lower position; reduce in rank
  • "He was broken down to Sergeant"
• reduce to bankruptcy
• change directions suddenly
• emerge from the surface of a body of water
  • "The whales broke"
• break down, literally or metaphorically
  • "The dam broke"
• do a break dance
• exchange for smaller units of money
• destroy the completeness of a set of related items
• make the opening shot that scatters the balls
• separate from a clinch, in boxing
  • "The referee broke the boxers"
• go to pieces
  • "The lawn mower finally broke"
• break a piece from a whole
• become punctured or penetrated
  • "The skin broke"
• pierce or penetrate
  • "The blade broke her skin"
• be released or become known; of news
  • "News of her death broke in the morning"
• cease an action temporarily
• interrupt the flow of current in
• undergo breaking
  • "The simple vowels broke in many Germanic languages"
• find a flaw in
• find the solution or key to
• change suddenly from one tone quality or register to another
  • "Her voice broke to a whisper when she started to talk about her children"
• happen
• become fractured; break or crack on the surface only
• crack; of the male voice in puberty
• fall sharply
  • "stock prices broke"
• fracture a bone of
  • "I broke my foot while playing hockey"
• diminish or discontinue abruptly
  • "The patient's fever broke last night"
• weaken or destroy in spirit or body
  • "His resistance was broken"
  • "a man broken by the terrible experience of near-death"
• lacking funds

Synonyms

bankrupt, better, breach, break, break away, break dance, break down, break in, break off, break out, break up, break-dance, bring out, bump, burst, bust, cave in, check, collapse, come apart, conk out, crack, damp, dampen, demote, develop, die, disclose, discontinue, discover, divulge, erupt, expose, fail, fall apart, fall in, founder, fracture, get around, get out, give, give away, give out, give way, go, go against, go bad, infract, intermit, interrupt, kick downstairs, let on, let out, offend, part, pause, recrudesce, relegate, reveal, ruin, separate, skint, smash, snap off, soften, split, split up, stone-broke, stony-broke, stop, transgress, unwrap, violate, weaken, wear, wear out