Brake
A brake is a mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of friction.
Break (verb)
To separate into two or more pieces, to fracture or crack, by a process that cannot easily be reversed for reassembly.
“If the vase falls to the floor, it might break.”
“In order to tend to the accident victim, he will break the window of the car.”
Break (verb)
To divide (something, often money) into smaller units.
“Can you break a hundred-dollar bill for me?”
“The wholesaler broke the container loads into palettes and boxes for local retailers.”
Break (verb)
To cause (a person or animal) to lose spirit or will; to crush the spirits of.
“Her child’s death broke Angela.”
“Interrogators have used many forms of torture to break prisoners of war.”
“The interrogator hoped to break her to get her testimony against her accomplices.”
Break (verb)
To be crushed, or overwhelmed with sorrow or grief.
“My heart is breaking.”
Break (verb)
To interrupt; to destroy the continuity of; to dissolve or terminate.
“I’ve got to break this habit I have of biting my nails.”
“to break silence; to break one’s sleep; to break one’s journey”
“I had won four games in a row, but now you’ve broken my streak of luck.”
Break (verb)
To ruin financially.
“The recession broke some small businesses.”
Break (verb)
To violate, to not adhere to.
“When you go to Vancouver, promise me you won’t break the law.”
“He broke his vows by cheating on his wife.”
“break one’s word”
“Time travel would break the laws of physics.”
Break (verb)
To pass the most dangerous part of the illness; to go down, in terms of temperature.
“Susan’s fever broke at about 3 AM, and the doctor said the worst was over.”
Break (verb)
To end.
“The forecast says the hot weather will break by midweek.”
Break (verb)
To begin; to end.
“We ran to find shelter before the storm broke.”
“Around midday the storm broke, and the afternoon was calm and sunny.”
Break (verb)
To arrive.
“Morning has broken.”
“The day broke crisp and clear.”
Break (verb)
To render (a game) unchallenging by altering its rules or exploiting loopholes or weaknesses in them in a way that gives a player an unfair advantage.
“Changing the rules to let white have three extra queens would break chess.”
“I broke the RPG by training every member of my party to cast fireballs as well as use swords.”
Break (verb)
To crack or fracture (bone) under a physical strain.
“His ribs broke under the weight of the rocks piled on his chest.”
“She broke her neck.”
“He slipped on the ice and broke his leg.”
“You have to break an elephant before you can use it as an animal of burden.”
Break (verb)
To cause (a barrier) to no longer bar.
“break a seal”
Break (verb)
To cause (some feature of a program or piece of software) to stop functioning properly; to cause a regression.
“Adding 64-bit support broke backward compatibility with earlier versions.”
Break (verb)
To cause the shell of (an egg) to crack, so that the inside (yolk) is accessible.
Break (verb)
To destroy the arrangement of; to throw into disorder; to pierce.
“The cavalry were not able to break the British squares.”
Break (verb)
To collapse into right|thumb|196px|A wave breaking.
Break (verb)
To burst forth; to make its way; to come into view.
Break (verb)
To interrupt or cease one’s work or occupation temporarily.
“Let’s break for lunch.”
Break (verb)
To interrupt (a fall) by inserting something so that the falling object does not (immediately) hit something else beneath.
“He survived the jump out the window because the bushes below broke his fall.”
Break (verb)
To disclose or make known an item of news, etc.
“The newsman wanted to break a big story, something that would make him famous.”
“I don’t know how to break this to you, but your cat is not coming back.”
“In the latest breaking news…”
“When news of their divorce broke, …”
Break (verb)
To become audible suddenly.
Break (verb)
To change a steady state abruptly.
“His coughing broke the silence.”
“His turning on the lights broke the enchantment.”
“With the mood broken, what we had been doing seemed pretty silly.”
Break (verb)
To suddenly become.
“Things began breaking bad for him when his parents died.”
“The arrest was standard, when suddenly the suspect broke ugly.”
Break (verb)
Of a male voice, to become deeper at puberty.
Break (verb)
Of a voice, to alter in type due to emotion or strain: in men generally to go up, in women sometimes to go down; to crack.
“His voice breaks when he gets emotional.”
Break (verb)
To surpass or do better than (a specific number), to do better than (a record), setting a new record.
“He broke the men’s 100-meter record.”
“I can’t believe she broke 3 under par!”
“The policeman broke sixty on a residential street in his hurry to catch the thief.”
Break (verb)
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Break (verb)
To open (a safe) without using the correct key, combination{{,}} or the like.
Break (verb)
To win a game (against one’s opponent) as receiver.
“He needs to break serve to win the match.”
Break (verb)
To make the first shot; to scatter the balls from the initial neat arrangement.
“Is it your or my turn to break?”
Break (verb)
To demote, to reduce the military rank of.
Break (verb)
To end (a connection), to disconnect.
“The referee ordered the boxers to break the clinch.”
“The referee broke the boxers’ clinch.”
“I couldn’t hear a thing he was saying, so I broke the connection and called him back.”
Break (verb)
To demulsify.
Break (verb)
To counter-attack
Break (verb)
To lay open, as a purpose; to disclose, divulge, or communicate.
Break (verb)
To become weakened in constitution or faculties; to lose health or strength.
Break (verb)
To fail in business; to become bankrupt.
Break (verb)
To destroy the strength, firmness, or consistency of.
“to break flax”
Break (verb)
To destroy the official character and standing of; to cashier; to dismiss.
Break (verb)
To make an abrupt or sudden change; to change the gait.
“to break into a run or gallop”
Break (verb)
To fall out; to terminate friendship.
Break (noun)
An instance of breaking something into two or more pieces.
“The femur has a clean break and so should heal easily.”
Break (noun)
A opens up in something or between two things.
“The sun came out in a break in the clouds.”
“He waited minutes for a break in the traffic to cross the highway.”
Break (noun)
A rest or pause, usually from work.
“Let’s take a five-minute break.”
Break (noun)
A short holiday.
“a weekend break on the Isle of Wight”
Break (noun)
A temporary split with a romantic partner.
“I think we need a break.”
Break (noun)
An interval or intermission between two parts of a performance, for example a theatre show, broadcast, or sports game.
Break (noun)
A significant change in circumstance, attitude, perception, or focus of attention.
“big break”
“lucky break, bad break”
Break (noun)
The beginning (of the morning).
“daybreak”
“at the break of day”
Break (noun)
An act of escaping.
“make a break for it, for the door”
“It was a clean break.”
“prison break”
Break (noun)
The separation between lines or paragraphs of a written text.
Break (noun)
A change, particularly the end of a spell of persistent good or bad weather.
Break (noun)
:
Break (noun)
A receiving player(s).
Break (noun)
The first shot in a game of billiards
Break (noun)
The number of points scored by one player in one visit to the table
Break (noun)
The counter-attack
Break (noun)
A large four-wheeled carriage, having a straight body and calash top, with the driver’s seat in front and the footman’s behind.
Break (noun)
A sharp bit or snaffle.
Break (noun)
A short section of music, often between verses, in which some performers stop while others continue.
“The fiddle break was amazing; it was a pity the singer came back in on the wrong note.”
Break (noun)
The point in the musical scale at which a woodwind instrument is designed to overblow, that is, to move from its lower to its upper register.
“Crossing the break smoothly is one of the first lessons the young clarinettist needs to master.”
Break (noun)
A section of extended repetition of the percussion break to a song, created by a hip-hop DJ as rhythmic dance music.
Brake (noun)
A fern; bracken. from 14th c.
Brake (noun)
A thicket, or an area overgrown with briers etc. from 15th c.
Brake (noun)
A tool used for breaking flax or hemp. from 15th c.
Brake (noun)
A type of wikipedia.)
Brake (noun)
A large, heavy harrow for breaking clods after ploughing; a drag.
Brake (noun)
An ancient engine of war analogous to the crossbow and ballista.
Brake (noun)
The handle of a pump.
Brake (noun)
A device used to slow or stop the motion of a wheel, or of a vehicle, by friction; also, the controls or apparatus used to engage such a mechanism such as the pedal in a car. from 18th c.
Brake (noun)
The winch of a crossbow. 14th-19th c.
Brake (noun)
The act of braking, of using a brake to slow down a machine or vehicle
Brake (noun)
An apparatus for testing the power of a steam engine or other motor by weighing the amount of friction that the motor will overcome; a friction brake.
Brake (noun)
A baker’s kneading trough.
Brake (noun)
A device used to confine or prevent the motion of an animal.
Brake (noun)
Something used to retard or stop some action, process etc.
Brake (noun)
A frame for confining a refractory horse while the smith is shoeing him.
Brake (noun)
An enclosure to restrain cattle, horses, etc.
Brake (noun)
A breaking in horses.W
Brake (noun)
That part of a carriage, as of a movable battery, or engine, which enables it to turn.
Brake (noun)
A cage. 16th-17th c.
Brake (noun)
A type of torture instrument. from 16th c.
Brake (verb)
To bruise and crush; to knead
“The farmer’s son brakes the flax while mother brakes the bread dough”
Brake (verb)
To pulverise with a harrow
Brake (verb)
To operate (a) brake(s).
Brake (verb)
To be stopped or slowed (as if) by braking.
Break (verb)
separate into pieces as a result of a blow, shock, or strain
“the rope broke with a loud snap”
“windows in the street were broken by the blast”
Break (verb)
sustain an injury involving the fracture of a bone or bones in a part of the body
“what if his leg had broken?”
“she had broken her leg in two places”
Break (verb)
cause a cut or graze in (the skin)
“the bite had scarcely broken the skin”
Break (verb)
make or become inoperative
“he’s broken the video”
“the machine has broken and they can’t fix it until next week”
Break (verb)
(of the amniotic fluid surrounding a fetus) be discharged when the sac is ruptured in the first stages of labour
“she realized her waters had broken”
Break (verb)
open (a safe) forcibly.
Break (verb)
use (a banknote) to pay for something and receive change out of the transaction
“she had to break a tenner”
Break (verb)
(of two boxers or wrestlers) come out of a clinch, especially at the referee’s command
“I was acting as referee and telling them to break”
Break (verb)
make the first stroke at the beginning of a game of billiards, pool, or snooker.
Break (verb)
unfurl (a flag or sail).
Break (verb)
succeed in deciphering (a code)
“ciphers are easily broken by the new wonder machines”
Break (verb)
disprove (an alibi).
Break (verb)
interrupt (a continuity, sequence, or course)
“the new government broke the pattern of growth”
“his concentration was broken by a sound”
Break (verb)
put an end to (a silence) by speaking or making contact
“it was some time before he broke the silence”
Break (verb)
make a pause in (a journey)
“we will break our journey in Venice”
Break (verb)
stop proceedings in order to have a pause or vacation
“at mid-morning they broke for coffee”
Break (verb)
lessen the impact of (a fall)
“she put out an arm to break her fall”
Break (verb)
disconnect or interrupt (an electric circuit)
“a multimeter able to measure current without having to break the circuit under test”
Break (verb)
stop oneself from engaging in (a habitual practice)
“try to break the habit of adding salt at the table”
Break (verb)
surpass (a record)
“the film broke box office records in the US”
Break (verb)
fail to observe (a law, regulation, or agreement)
“the council says it will prosecute traders who break the law”
“a legally binding contract which can only be broken by mutual consent”
Break (verb)
fail to continue with (a self-imposed discipline)
“diets started without preparation are broken all the time”
Break (verb)
crush the emotional strength, spirit, or resistance of
“the idea was to better the prisoners, not to break them”
Break (verb)
(of a person’s emotional strength or control) give way
“her self-control finally broke”
Break (verb)
destroy the power of (a movement or organization)
“strategies used to break the union”
Break (verb)
destroy the effectiveness of (a strike), typically by moving in other people to replace the striking workers
“a government threat to use the army to break the strike”
Break (verb)
(of the weather) change suddenly, especially after a fine spell
“the weather broke and thunder rumbled through a leaden sky”
Break (verb)
(of a storm) begin violently
“when all were aboard, the storm broke”
Break (verb)
(of dawn or a day) begin as the sun rises
“dawn was just breaking”
Break (verb)
(of clouds) move apart and begin to disperse
“on the seventh of September the clouds broke for the first time”
Break (verb)
(of waves) curl over and dissolve into foam
“the Caribbean sea was breaking gently on the shore”
Break (verb)
(of a person’s voice) falter and change tone, due to emotion
“her voice broke as she relived the experience”
Break (verb)
(of a boy’s voice) change in tone and register at puberty
“after his voice broke, he left the choir”
Break (verb)
(of a vowel) develop into a diphthong, under the influence of an adjacent sound.
Break (verb)
(of prices on the stock exchange) fall sharply.
Break (verb)
(of news or a scandal) suddenly become public
“since the news broke I’ve received thousands of wonderful letters”
Break (verb)
make bad news known to (someone)
“he was trying to break the terrible news gently to his father”
Break (verb)
(chiefly of an attacking player or team, or of a military force) make a rush or dash in a particular direction
“Mitchell won possession and broke quickly, allowing Hughes to score”
Break (verb)
(of a bowled cricket ball) change direction on bouncing, due to spin.
Break (verb)
(of a ball) rebound unpredictably
“the ball broke to Craig but his shot rebounded from the post”
Break (noun)
an interruption of continuity or uniformity
“the magazine has been published without a break since 1950”
Break (noun)
an act of separating oneself from a pre-existing state of affairs
“a break with the past”
Break (noun)
a change in the weather
“a week or so may pass without a break in the weather”
Break (noun)
a change of line, paragraph, or page
“dotted lines on the screen show page breaks”
Break (noun)
a change of tone in a person’s voice due to emotion
“there was a break in her voice now”
Break (noun)
an interruption in an electric circuit.
Break (noun)
the winning of a game against an opponent’s serve.
Break (noun)
a pause in work or during an activity or event
“I need a break from mental activity”
“a coffee break”
“those returning to work after a career break”
Break (noun)
an interval during the school day
“the bell went for break”
Break (noun)
a short holiday
“a weekend break in the Cotswolds”
Break (noun)
a short solo or instrumental passage in jazz or popular music.
Break (noun)
dance music featuring breakbeats.
Break (noun)
a gap or opening
“the track bends left through a break in the hedge”
“he stopped to wait for a break in the traffic”
Break (noun)
an instance of breaking something, or the point where something is broken
“he was stretchered off with a break to the leg”
Break (noun)
a rush or dash in a particular direction, especially by an attacking player or team
“Norwich scored on a rare break with 11 minutes left”
Break (noun)
an escape, typically from prison.
Break (noun)
a change in the direction of a bowled ball on bouncing.
Break (noun)
an opportunity or chance, especially one leading to professional success
“he got his break as an entertainer on a TV music hall show”
Break (noun)
a consecutive series of successful shots, scoring a specified number of points
“a break of 83 put him in front for the first time”
Break (noun)
a player’s turn to make the opening shot of a game
“whose break is it?”
Break (noun)
a bud or shoot sprouting from a stem.
Break (noun)
former term for breaking cart
Break (noun)
another term for brake
Brake (noun)
a device for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, typically by applying pressure to the wheels
“he slammed on his brakes”
“a brake pedal”
Brake (noun)
a thing that slows or hinders a process
“constrained resources will act as a brake on research”
Brake (noun)
another term for brake van
Brake (noun)
an open horse-drawn carriage with four wheels.
Brake (noun)
a toothed instrument used for crushing flax and hemp.
Brake (noun)
a heavy machine formerly used in agriculture for breaking up large lumps of earth.
Brake (noun)
a thicket.
Brake (noun)
a coarse fern of warm and tropical countries, frequently having the fronds divided into long linear segments.
Brake (noun)
archaic term for bracken
Brake (verb)
make a moving vehicle slow down or stop by using a brake
“she had to brake hard to avoid a milk float”