Break Synonyms | Uses & Examples
Break is a verb and noun with various definitions. Some break synonyms are:
- Shatter
- Smash
- Malfunction
- Fail
- Pause
- End
- Breach
- Violate
- Surpass
- Exceed
- Devastate
- Pause
- Rest
- Interruption
- Disruption
- Opportunity
- Chance
- Fracture
- Crack
For more synonyms for break, use QuillBot’s free Paraphraser.
Break definition
As a verb and noun, break has many definitions. The most common ones are listed below.
| Part of speech | Meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | To separate into pieces | Don’t touch anything because you might break it. |
| To malfunction | My watch broke; can you tell me the time? | |
| To interrupt or stop | Let’s break here for lunch. | |
| To violate a rule or agreement | The criminal broke the law. | |
| To surpass a record | The sprinter is hoping to break the world record. | |
| To cause emotional distress | The news broke her heart. | |
| Noun | A pause or rest | We have a break between classes now. |
| An interruption or sudden change | The organization is making a break from past traditions. | |
| An opportunity | This could be his big break. | |
| Damage | There’s a small break in his femur. |
- Break down (to have a crisis; to disintegrate; to malfunction)
- Break out (to escape)
- Break in (to force entry; to wear something so it becomes comfortable)
- Break up (to end a relationship; to stop a fight)
- Break through (to force through a barrier; to achieve success)
Break synonyms
Given that there are so many definitions of break, these synonym tables are limited to strong matches for each meaning.
Synonyms for break as a verb
When break means “to separate into pieces,” some synonyms are stronger matches than others. For example, “shatter” is a good general replacement, while “snap” means “to break suddenly.”
| Match | Synonym | Break example | Synonym example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strongest | Shatter | All of a sudden, the window broke. | All of a sudden, the window shattered. |
| Smash | The children broke their toys during a tantrum. | The children smashed their toys during a tantrum. | |
| Strong | Crack | The pressure of the cement broke the mold. | The pressure of the cement cracked the mold. |
| Split | He broke the log in two with his axe. | He split the log in two with his axe. | |
| Fracture | Sheila broke her arm in two places. | Sheila fractured her arm in two places. |
For synonyms for break meaning “to malfunction,” synonyms are generally strong. “Die” is mostly used to refer to electronic devices, like phones or computers.
| Match | Synonym | Break example | Synonym example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strongest | Malfunction | The airplane motor broke during testing. | The airplane motor failed during testing. |
| Fail | Our vacuum has broken again. | Our vacuum has failed again. | |
| Strong | Stop working | The machine broke yesterday, and they can’t fix it until next week. | The machine stopped working yesterday, and they can’t fix it until next week. |
| Die | My laptop broke yesterday. | My laptop died yesterday. |
These synonyms for break meaning “to interrupt or stop” are also, in general, strong. “Suspend” means to “prevent from continuing,” and “discontinue” means to “stop doing or providing something.”
| Match | Synonym | Break example | Synonym example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strongest | Pause | Let’s break for ten minutes. | Let’s pause for ten minutes. |
| End | Their vote broke the deadlock. | Their vote ended the deadlock. | |
| Halt | The rude comment broke negotiations. | The rude comment halted negotiations. | |
| Strong | Suspend | We’re going to break the meeting for lunch. | We’re going to suspend the meeting for lunch. |
| Discontinue | Mark broke his routine for a while. | Mark discontinued his routine for a while. |
Synonyms for break meaning “to violate a rule or agreement” are often used in the context of law, contracts, or codes of behavior. Weaker synonyms have slightly different meanings, like “transgress,” which means “to go beyond the limits of what’s acceptable.”
| Match | Synonym | Break example | Synonym example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strongest | Breach | The business has broken the law by importing illicit goods. | The business has breached the law by importing illicit goods. |
| Violate | You will break the terms of the contract if you proceed like this. | You will violate the terms of the contract if you proceed like this. | |
| Strong | Infringe | This content breaks copyright law. | This content infringes copyright law. |
| Disobey | When too many children break the classroom rules, it affects the morale of the whole group. | When too many children disobey the classroom rules, it affects the morale of the whole group. |
- Tell
- Convey
- Announce
- Disclose
- Inform
Synonyms for break meaning “to surpass a record” are generally strong, though the weaker synonyms have slightly different connotations than “surpass.”
| Match | Synonym | Break example | Synonym example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strongest | Surpass | Usain Bolt has broken many world records for sprinting. | Usain Bolt has surpassed many world records for sprinting. |
| Exceed | That film broke the world record for the longest scene of dialogue. | That film exceeded the world record for the longest scene of dialogue. | |
| Strong | Beat | She broke her previous record at Tetris. | She beat her previous record at Tetris. |
| Top | The team broke the record for the most consecutive wins. | The team topped the record for the most consecutive wins. | |
| Outdo | The boxer broke his rival’s record. | The boxer outdid his rival’s record. |
Synonyms for break meaning “to cause emotional distress” vary in intensity. The strongest synonyms suggest more intense distress, while strong synonyms suggest a slightly lower level of intensity.
| Match | Synonym | Break example | Synonym example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strongest | Devastate | The bad news broke her. | The bad news devastated her. |
| Shatter | The death of his eldest brother broke him. | The death of his eldest brother shattered him. | |
| Crush | A bad divorce broke my sister’s spirit for a while. | A bad divorce crushed my sister’s spirit for a while. | |
| Strong | Wound | Your harsh words broke me. | Your harsh words wounded me. |
| Hurt | That book broke me emotionally. | That book hurt me emotionally. | |
| Upset | Losing her pet dog broke Sora for months. | Losing her pet dog upset Sora for months. |
Synonyms for break as a noun
The strongest synonyms for break meaning “a pause or rest” are good general substitutes. The strong synonyms also mean “a pause or rest,” but are usually used in specific contexts (e.g., a “caesura” is used in the context of literature).
| Match | Synonym | Break example | Synonym example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strongest | Pause | Whether you’re tired or not, the law requires you to take a break every three hours. | Whether you’re tired or not, the law requires you to take a pause every three hours. |
| Rest | At 11 AM, we have a break between classes. | At 11 AM, we have a rest between classes. | |
| Recess | The council will now take a break before they hear the remaining testimonies. | The council will now take a recess before they hear the remaining testimonies. | |
| Strong | Lull | There was a break in conversation during dinner as the hungry guests went quiet. | There was a lull in conversation during dinner as the hungry guests went quiet. |
| Breather | Let’s take a break before we continue up the mountain. | Let’s take a breather before we continue up the mountain. | |
| Caesura | Poetry often uses breaks to establish rhythm. | Poetry often uses caesuras to establish rhythm. |
Use QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker to quickly and easily make sure you don’t mix up these words or other homophones in your writing.
Synonyms for break meaning “an interruption or sudden change” are also generally strong. Bear in mind that you may need to remove the definite article “a” that is often used with break depending on the synonym you use (e.g., “without a break” and “without interruption”).
| Match | Synonym | Break example | Synonym example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strongest | Interruption | This show has been broadcast every night without a break since 1980. | This show has been broadcast every night without interruption since 1980. |
| Disruption | We had a break in Internet service last night. | We had a disruption in Internet service last night. | |
| Strong | Shift | There was a break in the weather. | There was a shift in the weather. |
| Lapse | The yelling outside caused a break in focus among the students. | The yelling outside caused a lapse in focus among the students. |
The synonyms for break meaning “an opportunity” listed here are all strong substitutes. With this meaning, break is often used with the adjective “big” (e.g., “my big break”), but that’s not always the case with its synonyms.
| Match | Synonym | Break example | Synonym example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strongest | Opportunity | After ten years of doing bit parts, the actress finally got her big break. | After ten years of doing bit parts, the actress finally got her big opportunity. |
| Chance | The up-and-coming director got his break after being an assistant to Steven Spielberg. | The up-and-coming director got his chance after being an assistant to Steven Spielberg. | |
| Opening | Tom’s waiting for his break in the industry. | Tom’s waiting for his opening in the industry. | |
| Shot | This is your break, so go for it! | This is your shot, so go for it! |
For synonyms for break meaning “damage,” the weaker synonyms have more specific meanings. “Split” implies breaking in the middle, “rupture” refers to bursting, and “tear” denotes pulling something apart.
| Match | Synonym | Break example | Synonym example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strongest | Fracture | Dan has a slight break in his left leg. | Dan has a slight fracture in his left leg. |
| Crack | You should buy a new helmet because there’s a break in this one. | You should buy a new helmet because there’s a crack in this one. | |
| Strong | Split | There’s a break in this wall, which is why there’s such a draft. | There’s a split in this wall, which is why there’s such a draft. |
| Rupture | A break in the artery has caused extensive bleeding. | A rupture in the artery has caused extensive bleeding. | |
| Tear | Lou suffered a break in his shoulder ligament. | Lou suffered a tear in his shoulder ligament. |
Break down synonyms
Break down is a phrasal verb with a few meanings:
- To stop working
- To emotionally collapse
- To physically collapse or destroy
- To analyze
- To separate into smaller pieces
Some strong synonyms for break down are found below, organized by meaning. Some of these synonyms overlap with the synonyms for break when it has similar meanings to break down.
| Meaning of break down | Synonym | Break down example | Synonym example |
|---|---|---|---|
| To stop working | Fail | The negotiations broke down due to trade issues. | The negotiations failed due to trade issues. |
| To stop working | Go dead | Two buses broke down on the highway today. | Two buses went dead on the highway today. |
| To stop working | Malfunction | What’s worse: that your car breaks down in a busy city or your boat stalls on an isolated lake? | What’s worse: that your car malfunctions in a busy city or your boat stalls on an isolated lake? |
| To emotionally collapse | Collapse | The mother broke down in the trial of her child. | The mother collapsed in the trial of her child. |
| To emotionally collapse | Fall apart | Sara broke down when she found out the news about her fiancé. | Sara fell apart when she found out the news. |
| To emotionally collapse | Lose control | If the child gets overwhelmed, he sometimes breaks down from anxiety. | If the child gets overwhelmed, he sometimes loses control from anxiety. |
| To physically collapse | Fall apart | The palette broke down over time because of the rain and termites. | The palette fell apart over time because of the rain and termites. |
| To physically collapse | Crumble | The old stone wall has broken down over the years. | The old stone wall has crumbled over the years. |
| To physically collapse | Cave in | The roof broke down under the snow. | The roof caved in under the snow. |
| To force entry | Bust open | The police broke down the door. | The police busted open the door. |
| To force entry | Smash in | The protagonist of the action movie broke down the gate. | The protagonist of the action movie smashed in the gate. |
| To force entry | Force open | The rescue team broke down the door to save the people trapped inside. | The rescue team forced open the door to save the people trapped inside. |
| To analyze | Deconstruct | Let’s break down the data by age group. | Let’s deconstruct the data by age group. |
| To analyze | Dissect | Can you break down the report for us? | Can you dissect the report for us? |
| To analyze | Outline | The teacher broke down the topic clearly. | The teacher outlined the topic clearly. |
| To separate into smaller pieces | Decompose | Styrofoam does not break down, which is why it is bad for the environment. | Styrofoam does not decompose, which is why it is bad for the environment. |
| To separate into smaller pieces | Disintegrate | Compost breaks down and helps nourish new plant growth. | Compost disintegrates and helps nourish new plant growth. |
| To separate into smaller pieces | Dissolve | Glucose breaks down in water. | Glucose dissolves in water. |
Frequently asked questions about break synonyms
- What’s the meaning of break bread?
-
“Break bread” means “to share a meal,” especially when that meal involves bread.
When used as figurative language, “break bread” can also mean “to reconcile,” particularly when people share a meal to end a conflict. This phrase also has symbolic meaning in the Jewish and Christian faiths.
QuillBot’s Paraphraser helps you find synonyms for “break bread,” synonyms for break, and other ways to express your intended meaning.
- What’s a synonym for breaking?
-
Some synonyms for “breaking” are:
- Shattering
- Smashing
- Violating
- Breaching
- Pausing
- Halting
- Collapsing
- Falling apart
“Break” has many meanings, so the best choice depends on what you want to express. To choose, review the synonyms for break organized by meaning, or use QuillBot’s free Paraphraser.
- What’s a synonym for breaking point?
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Some synonyms for “breaking point” are:
- Limit
- Threshold
- Edge
- Brink
- Crossroads
- Boiling point
- Meltdown point
- Tipping point
- Point of no return
Use QuillBot’s Paraphraser to find more synonyms for “breaking point,” synonyms for break, and more ways to express yourself.
- What does break even mean?
-
The phrase break even means to make neither a profit nor a loss.
A company is “breaking even” if its costs are equal to the money it gets from selling things. If you buy a car for $1,000 on Monday and sell it to someone for $1,000 on Tuesday, you have “broken even” on the transaction. If you go to a casino and bet $100 during the evening, but win a total of $100, you have “broken even” on your gambling.
On a related note, deciding if you should spell it brake or break can be tricky; the verb “brake” means to engage the system that slows a vehicle down (e.g., “I had to brake hard at the lights”).
Have you tried QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker? It will help you pick up errors in the use of homophones like “brake” and “break” in your texts.
