breaking

verb

Definition of breakingnext
present participle of break
1
as in disrupting
to cause to separate into pieces usually suddenly or forcibly hated telling her that I had broken her favorite glass vase

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Relevance

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2
as in stopping
to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end the final vote broke the deadlock

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3
as in reducing
to bring to a lower grade or rank the captain was broken to lieutenant commander for disobeying a direct order from his group commander

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4
as in deciphering
to change (as a secret message) from code into ordinary language Alan Turing and the Bletchley Park mathematicians broke the Enigma code being used by the Nazis

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5
as in pausing
to come to a temporary halt in one's activity she broke from her ruminations to find that it was already dinnertime

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6
as in plowing
to cut into and turn over the sod of (a piece of land) using a bladed implement farmers once broke fields with horse-drawn plows

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7
as in violating
to fail to keep had to confess that he had broken his promise not to share their conversation with anyone

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8
as in solving
to find an answer for through reasoning Professor Bates broke the problem when she realized that it was possible to synthesize the necessary compounds

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9
as in damaging
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of I broke a tooth on the hard candy

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10
as in dying
to stop functioning after working for 30 years, the pump simply broke one day

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11
as in retreating
to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening the herd of gazelles broke when they saw the lions racing toward them from the ridge above

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12
as in wearing
to use up all the physical energy of the trek up the mountain just about broke me

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13
as in spreading
to become known as soon as the scandal broke, the CEO fled the country

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14
as in bankrupting
to cause to lose one's fortune and become unable to pay one's debts another bad investment could break him

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15
as in originating
to come into existence the crisis had passed, and a new day was breaking

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16
as in veering
to depart abruptly from a straight line or course the running back broke to his left before running out of bounds

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17
as in lowering
to diminish the price or value of distressing economic news that will break many energy stocks

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18
as in exceeding
to go beyond the limit of a menu with prices that is likely to break the budgets of all but the wealthiest of diners

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19
as in surfacing
to penetrate the surface (as of water) from below dolphins were breaking all around the boat

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of breaking Zelensky accused Moscow of breaking the apparent agreement and, in turn, resumed strikes against Russian oil facilities, defying pressure from Washington. — Olivia-Anne Cleary, Time, 21 Oct. 2026 Jurors began deliberating Wednesday afternoon and continued Thursday and Friday before breaking for the weekend. — Adam Thompson, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026 This tactical pen includes a powerful little flashlight, a strong glass-breaking tip, a blade, a graphite pen, and a magnetic screwdriver with room to hold three bits. — Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 19 Oct. 2026 With the biggest comeback in NBA finals history, the Knicks were one step closer to securing the championship and breaking a 53-year drought. — Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 19 Oct. 2026 In 1995, however, Reeve, a competitive equestrian, had a devastating accident, breaking his spine while riding, and becoming paralyzed for the rest of his life. — Kate Aurthur, Variety, 19 Oct. 2026 Katie Zacharia made her debut as Donald Trump‘s new White House press secretary on Tuesday with a very short briefing that nevertheless offered a bit of breaking news as well as a lot of praise and thanks for her new boss. — Ted Johnson, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026 While the idea of slowly, safely developing a potentially society-breaking technology may sound appealing, the financial incentives may be too high for that to ever happen. — Emily Forlini, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026 Ramírez helped the Guardians get two more by breaking for third with two outs and two strikes on Adell. — Rob Maaddi, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for breaking
  1. disrupting
  2. stopping
  3. reducing
  4. deciphering
  5. pausing
  6. plowing
  7. violating
  8. solving
Verb
  • Earlier this month, Ukrainian drones connected to Starshield lost connectivity at high speeds, disrupting air defenses during daily Russian air attacks.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026
  • The new enforcement effort is disrupting daily life as some parents with visitor visas avoid crossing altogether.
    — Angela Kocherga, NPR, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of disrupting
Verb
  • But Pollard was ruled down just outside the end zone in the second quarter, and Cleveland turned the Titans over on downs with Maliek Collins stopping Pollard on fourth-and-goal.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026
  • But there's nothing stopping users from posting images or videos made with third party filters to the platform — or onto TikTok and Instagram, for that matter.
    — Chloe Veltman, NPR, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of stopping
Verb
  • Climate policies are reducing emissions Since the adoption of the Paris Agreement just over a decade ago, global renewable electricity capacity has grown three times faster than anticipated, while solar PV build-out has increased seven times faster.
    — Simmone Shah, Time, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The filter also makes the page look like a poster left too long in the sun, washing it out and reducing contrast compared to monochrome e-readers.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of reducing
Verb
  • Bahdanau was working with artificial neural networks, which had already shown promise in pattern-recognition tasks such as deciphering handwriting and identifying objects in photos.
    — Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 12 Oct. 2026
  • In addition to developing better medicines or perfumes, deciphering the mirror images of molecules can help scientists understand the chemical architecture of life, said chemist Holden Thorp, editor-in-chief of the journal Science.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of deciphering
Verb
  • North Carolina has the lowest gas prices in the United States after pausing the gas tax, but not everyone gassing up their vehicles is happy.
    — Eva Flowe October 22, Charlotte Observer, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The Offspring’s co-founding guitarist Noodles is pausing on performing due to a health scare.
    — Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of pausing
Verb
  • Meta is plowing unprecedented amounts of capital into AI infrastructure and services, joining companies like Alphabet, OpenAI, and Microsoft in a race to develop the most advanced AI models.
    — Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The coins were found scattered across an area measuring roughly 19 feet by 5 feet — likely a result of plowing.
    — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of plowing
Verb
  • Charlotte’s water utility has fielded about 18 complaints a day of people violating mandatory water restrictions in place since mid-May, when the region was facing an extreme drought crisis.
    — Nick Sullivan, Charlotte Observer, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Just before kickoff, the Tide confirmed that Kirkpatrick was suspended for violating team rules.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of violating
Verb
  • Some puzzlers describe solving the crossword as a workout; for me, today’s was a knock-down, drag-out fistfight.
    — Sean McGowan, New York Times, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Yarbrough, who died at age 76 on Saturday, would be stationed at the table throughout the GHSA playoffs, sometimes welcoming guests and dignitaries and otherwise answering questions and solving problems.
    — Stan Awtrey, AJC.com, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of solving

Phrases Containing breaking

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break-in
breaking
breaking bread
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Cite this Entry

“Breaking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breaking. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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