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.
1. 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.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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