break 
li-iitly, us by :i blow or strain; part by a rup- 
tnro iif substance; fracture: used primarily nf 
rigid solid material*: us. to brml- u stone i.r a 
stick; to break a wall. 
And the widows of Ashnr arc loud in their wall. 
And the Idols nre broke In tin temple 
Byron, Destruction ,if ScniiMi-Jn iii, 
2. Specifically, in l<nr, to open or force one's 
way into (a dwelling, store, etc.) burglariously. 
\ house is said to be hfuk-'n by a burglar when any pa'rt 
or fastening of it is removed with intent 1" ellcet nil en- 
1 i ailee. 
3. To destroy the continuity of in any way; 
destroy the order or fonniitioii of; diaeoniud : 
interrupt; disorder; specifically, of the gkiu, 
lacerate : as, to break the center of an army ; 
to lircnk ranks; the stone, frilling, broke t he sur- 
face of the water; to break an electric circuit : 
to break one's sleep; the blow broke the skin. 
This hereditary right should lie kept so sacred us never 
to break the succession. >'///, Sent, of Oh. of Eng. Man, II. 
No other objeet break* 
The waste, lint one dwarf tree. 
Stiellri/, Julian and Muddalo. 
4. To destroy the completeness of; remove a 
part from; hence, to exchange for a smaller 
amount, as a bank-note in payment : as, to bn'/il: 
a set of chessmen; to break a ten-dollar bill. 
''nt I ai icasy about these same four guineas : I think 
yon should have given them hack again to your master ; 
ami yet I have broken them. BJMantjm, P&meU, xvii. 
6. To lessen, impair, or destroy the force, 
strength, or intensity of; weaken : as, a con- 
stitution broken by dissipation; to break a 
child's will ; to break the force of a blow. 
An old man, broken with the storms of state. 
Shak., Hen. VIII., Iv. 8. 
I'll rather leap down first ami break yonr fall. Dri:<l*-ii. 
Too courteous are you, fair Lord Lancelot. 
I pray you, use some rough discourtesy 
To hlunt or break her passion. 
Tmnynon, Lancelot and Elaine. 
6. To tame ; train to obedience ; make tract- 
able : as, to break a horse or a hunting-dog for 
work in the field. 
Why, then thou canst not break her to the lute? 
Shak.,T. of the S., 11.1. 
7. To violate, as a contract, law, or promise, 
either by a positive act contrary to the law or 
promise, or by neglect or non-fulfilment. 
I'nhappy man ! to break the pious laws 
Of nature. Dryaen. 
8. To make bankrupt, as a bank or a merchant : 
destroy, as the credit of a bank. 
The credit of this liank being thin broken did exceeding- 
ly discontent the people. Evelyn, Diary, March 12, 167-2. 
9. To reduce in or dismiss from rank or posi- 
tion as a punishment: as, to break an officer. 
It must lie allowed, Indeed, that to break an English 
frcelHiru officer only for blasphemy was, to speak the 
gentlest of such an action, a vry high strain of absolute 
power. >'/(, Against Altolishing Christianity. 
The captain . . . has the power to turn his officers olf 
duty, and even to break them and make them do duty as 
sailors in the forecastle. 
K. II. Dana, Jr., Before the Mast, p. 11. 
10f. To disband. 
My birthday was ominous. . . . The regiment in which 
my father served being broke. Steriir. 
11. To make a first and partial disclosure of, 
as an opinion or project ; especiallv, to impart 
or tell cautiously so as not to startle or shock; 
also, simply, tell; inform: as, to break unwel- 
come news to a person. 
His nerves are so weak, that the night of a poor relation 
maybe too much for him. I should have gone llrst t.. 
break it to him. Sheridan, School for Scandal, v. 1. 
12f. To cut up, as game, .skill in breaking the 
killed deer was con.si.lerc'l as important invenery a.s bold- 
ness in the chase itself. 
They found him liy a water side, 
Where he brake the beast that tide, 
The hart that was so wild. 
Sir Triiniiimf. in Ellis Collection. 
13. To tear. [Prov. Eiig.] 
In this county I Hampshire! break is used for tear, and 
tear liirbmik: as, I haven-torn my best decanter or china 
dish ; I have' n-in-ukr my tine cambric apron. Orate. 
To break a blockade, to render it inoperative by dri\ ing 
off or destroying the blockading force. To break a gun 
to open It by the action. To break a Jest, to utter a 
jest; crack a joke. <)!n-<i; fioffafftrMv. To break a 
lance, to enter the lists with an opponent ; make a trial 
of skill. -To break an electrical circuit, s.-,- rfrvu* 
-To break a path, a road, or a way, t" force a passage 
through obstacles or difficulties. To break bread. () 
To take a meal : share one's hospitalil). (M To celebrate 
the communion. To break bulk, (a) To begin to UN 
load, (b) To ivniou :i part ll'oin a pan-el or qnantit) of 
goods. 
I heard v |;. Howard impeach S' W- Pen in the HOIK, 
of Lords, for hn'iikin'i hulk and taking away rich goods out 
t (he K, India prizes formerly taken by I.ord Sandwich. 
KMyn, Mary, April it. tin 1 .-. 
669 
To break camp, to pack up tents and cmiip utensils, and 
march. To break cover <>r covert, to come 
forth from a lurklng-plac. when 
hilllteil. 
On this little knoll, If anywhere, 
There Is good chance that we shall hear the hounds : 
Here often they break corrrt at our fet. 
Teiinyma, Oeraint. 
To break down. () To take down by breaking ; destroy 
by breaking: as, to break down a fence: flgnratlx 
overcome: as. to break ilmrn all opposition, (fc) To paw 
(the press-cake of gunpowder) between the toothed rollers 
of a granulating machine.- To break gates. See gatei. 
To break ground, (a) To upturn the surface of the 
ground: dig; plow. </,)To dig; open trench**; commence 
excavation, as for building, siege operations, and the like ; 
hence, figuratively, to liegln to execute any plan. 
How happy, could I but, in any measure, . . . make 
manifest to you the meanings of Heroism ; the divine 
relation . . . which in all times unites a Urcat Man to 
other men; and thus, as It were, not exhaust my subject. 
hut so much as brent. ./,,,..,,,/ on ft. 
Carli/le, Heroes and Hero- Worship, i. 
(!) .Vim/., to release the anchor from the Ix.ttoin. To 
break in, to tame ; discipline ; make tractable, as a horse. 
-To break Jail or prison, to make one's escape from 
confinement. To break Joint, to tie so arranged, as 
stones, bricks, shingles, etc., In building, that the joints In 
one course do not coincide with thine in the contiguous 
courses. Stee uoinl'. 
A wire cable is composed of many threads, and these 
completely in'-nlc juint with each other, and thus neu- 
tralize any defect in the wires. Luce, Seamanship, p. 241. 
To break liberty or leave (/.), to remain away from 
a ship after the time specified for returning. To break 
no squares, see <yiv. To break of a habit or prac- 
tice, to cause to abandon It. To break off. (a) To sever 
by breaking : as, to break of a twig. (6) To put a sudden 
stop to ; Interrupt ; discontinue ; leave off ; give up : as, 
to break off a marriage engagement. 
All amazed brake of Ms late intent. 
Shak., Venus and Adonis, 1. 4tt). 
She ended here, or vehement despair 
Broke o/ the rest. Milton, P. L, x. 1008. 
To break one's fast, to take the ttrst food of the day. 
.See breakfa*t. 
Happy were our forefathers, who iimke their fa*l with 
herbs. Taylor. 
To break one's head, to cut one's head by a blow ; stun 
or kill one by a blow upon the head. 
He has broke mi/ head across, and has given Sir Toby a 
bloody coxcomb too. Shak., T. X., v. 1. 
To break One's heart, to Income heart-broken or griev- 
ously afflicted : as, he broke hit heart over her misfor- 
tunes. To break one's mind, to reveal one's thought* : 
with to. 
Break thy mind to me. Shak., Hen. V., v. 2. 
I, who much deslr'd to kuow 
Of whence she was, yet fearful how to break 
My mind, adventur'd humbly thus to speak. Dryden. 
To break one's word, to violate a promise or pledge; 
act contrary to an engagement. To break open, to force 
open; unclose by violence: as, to break oven a door. 
To break out a cargo, to unstow it so that It may be 
easily unloaded. To break Prisctan's head, to violate 
the rules of grammar. [1'iLsdan was a celebrated Roman 
grammarian.] 
Fair cousin, for thy glances, 
Instead of breaking Pri*cian'Jt head 
I had been breaking lances. /,,.,,/ 
To break ranks (un'ff/.). to leave the ranks ; fall cut- 
To break step (> it it.), to cease marching In cadence ; 
march at will. To break the back, to strain or dislo- 
cate the vertebra 1 as with too heavy a burden. To break 
the back of. (a) To destroy the force or efficiency of ; 
weaken at a vital point : as. one mistake broke the back of 
the enterprise. (6) A'aut., to break the keel and keelson 
of, as a ship. (<) Figuratively, to accomplish the greater 
or most difficult part of : as, to break the back of a heavy 
piece of business. TO break the bank. See bank'l. 
To break the grain, to destroy a tendency to crystallize, 
as in stearie acid by mixture with palmitic acid. To 
break the heart of, ti afflict grievously; cause great 
sorrow- or grief U> ; cause to die of grief. To break 
the heartstrings of, to inflict great grief or hopeless 
sorrow upon ; afflict overwhelmingly. 
NO time to break jests when the heart*trinn arc alwut 
to be broken. Fuller, Jesting. 
To break the Ice, to overcome obstacles and make a be- 
ginning; especially, to overcome the feeling of restraint 
incident to a new acquaintanceship. 
I have often formed a resolution to break the ice, and 
rattle away at any rate. 
Gold*mith, She Stoo)M to ConijUer, ii. 
The ice of ceremony being once broken. Scott. 
To break the neck, to dislocate a joint of the neck. 
To break the neck of. (a) To destroy the main force 
of ; ruin or destroy. 
Break* the neck of their own cause. Milton. 
(b) To get over the worst part of; get more than half 
through. 
He was a capital spinner of a yarn when he had broken 
the neck e; his day's work. Hughe*. 
To break the parlet, to begin the parley. Shak. - To 
break up. i> '!< cut up. as game. 
lloyct. yon can carve: 
/,,,;', ,.,, this capon. Shuk.. L. I- I.., Iv. 1. 
i'<) To open or lay open : as, to break up a floor ; to break 
n/i fallow ground, (c) To discontinue or put an end to ; 
as, to break tin housekeeping, (rf) To separate ; disinte- 
grate ; disband : as, to break up a company or an army. 
(c) TO impair; exhaust : fatigue greatly. 
The six hours of deadly terror which 1 then endured 
have /,,.,(, me ,,,, l.odi and soul. I'nr. Tales. I. liil. 
break 
To break upon the wheel, to torture or put to death 
by stretching on a c.irt wheel. or a noodcn frame in the 
f'.nn of a Mt. Andrew's cron, and breaking the limb, with 
an iron liar: a mode of punishment IM ..... :\ much 
in some paru of Europe. To break water, to ri-, toth. 
surface of the water, as a Ash. 
Numbers of these flsh (bluensh) may be s. 
it any time on the banks and shoak. 
Xpnrttman* Gazetteer. ,, 
To break wind, to give vent to wind from the body by 
the anus. To break word*, to \iolate a pledge or an 
obligation. 
They thai '.,.' ,.../ .mi, ii, n, 11 will break again 
With all the world, and so .I..-I thon uilh me. 
/;,,<.. tad I'l M.,,.1 - I'ragwly, |||. i. 
II. inlruim. 1. To be separated into parts 
or fragments under tin- notion of some force. 
as a blow or a strain ; bvconu- fractured: as, the 
rock broke into a thousand pieces : the in- ln-nl. 
under his feet. 2. To becmno discontinuoiiH, 
disconnected, disordered, or dM&tapltod ; 
lose continuity or formation : as, at the las! 
charge the line broki- ; the circuit broke. 
The command, charge, was given, and was executed 
with loud cheen and with a run ; wl ..... the last of the 
enemy broke. r. >'. Uriinl, Personal Memoir*, I. :<.-,!. 
3. Specifically () To change suddenly and 
involuntarily from a natural to a higher and 
shriller tone or to a whisper : said of the voice. 
(b) In music: (1) To change from one register 
to another, as a musical instrument. (2) To 
change from one combination of pipes to an- 
other, especially when having more than one 
pipe to tin' note : said of compound organ-stops, 
like the mixture, the cornet, etc. 4 . To change 
from one gait into another: said of ahorse: as, 
to break into a gallop. 5. To burst; happen 
or begin to be with suddenness or violence. 
(a) To discharge Itself spontaneously, as a tumor. 
The same old sore break* out from age to age. 
Tennytun, Walking to the Mail. 
(6) To burst forth or liegin with violence, as a storm. 
A second deluge o'er our heads may break. Dryilen. 
The whole storm, which had long been gathering, now 
broke at once on the head of Hive. Maeaulay, lord dive. 
(<0 To burst Into speech or action : generally followed by 
""'. (See phrases tielow.) 
I would not have your women hear me 
Break into commendation of you ; 'tis not seemly. 
Beau, and Fl., Maid s Tragedy, Iv. 1. 
(a) To begin as If with a burst or break. 
And from our own the glad shout breakt, 
Of Freedom and Fraternity ! Whittirr, Pasan. 
6. To become impaired, weakened, or reduced ; 
especially, to decline in health, strength, or 
personal appearance. 
I'm sorry Mopsa break* so fast : 
I said her face would never last. 
Stci/t, fade tins and Vanessa. 
7. To begin to be : said specifically of the day, 
dawn, or morning. 
Is not that the morning which breakt yonder? 
Shak., Hen. V., Iv. 1. 
Hie day of wrath, against which Leibnitz had warned 
the monarchs of Europe, was beginning to break. 
Banernft, Hist. Const., II. 38ft. 
8. To force one's way (into, out of, or through 
something). 
Oo, break among the press, and ttnd a way out 
To let the troop pass fairly. Shak.. Hen. VIII., v. 3. 
9. To fail in trade or other occupation; become 
bankrupt. 
He thai puts all upon adventures doth of tentimes break 
and come to poverty. Bacon, Riches. 
There came divers of Antonio's creditors in my com- 
IMiiy to Venice, that swear he cannot choose but break. 
Shak., M. of V., lit 1. 
The true original chairs were all sold, when the Hun 
tingdoiis broke. Gray, Utters. I. 217. 
10. To lose friendship; become hostile; be in 
opposition or antagonism : commonly with with. 
To break upon the wore of danger or expense Is to l 
mean and narrow-spirited. Jereuni Collirr. Friendship. 
11. In pool, to make a break; make the first 
shot or opening play. See break. ., 15. 12. 
,\aul., to hog or sag. 13. In hurt. : (a) To put 
forth new buds. (6) To flower before the 
proper time. 
In our turnip and carrot-beds a few plants often break 
- that Is, flower too soon. 
Daririii. \ ar. of Animals and Hants, p. s. 
14f. To broach a subject ; come to an explana- 
tion: with to or trith. 
The chamlier Uving voydcd. he brake irilh him in theae 
>' in, I. iila. Kuphues and his England, p. if!. 
Then, alter, t,, her lather will I break. 
Shak.. Much Ado. i I. 
To break across. <vc <... To break away, i 
disengage om'l .-.It alimpth : escape, as from a captor, 
t>\ sudden and \iolent action ; hen.',-, to l,a\c suddenly. 
Fear me not. man. I will not break ami;/. 
S*o*., < - . of E., Ir. 4. 
