interruption, break -- (some abrupt occurrence that interrupts an ongoing activity; "the telephone is an annoying interruption"; "there was a break in the action when a player was hurt")
break, good luck, happy chance -- (an unexpected piece of good luck; "he finally got his big break")
fault, faulting, geological fault, shift, fracture, break -- ((geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other; "they built it right over a geological fault"; "he studied the faulting of the earth's crust")
rupture, breach, break, severance, rift, falling out -- (a personal or social separation (as between opposing factions); "they hoped to avoid a break in relations")
respite, recess, break, time out -- (a pause from doing something (as work); "we took a 10-minute break"; "he took time out to recuperate")
breakage, break, breaking -- (the act of breaking something; "the breakage was unavoidable")
fracture, break -- (breaking of hard tissue such as bone; "it was a nasty fracture"; "the break seems to have been caused by a fall")
break -- (the occurrence of breaking; "the break in the dam threatened the valley")
break -- (an abrupt change in the tone or register of the voice (as at puberty or due to emotion); "then there was a break in her voice")
break -- (the opening shot that scatters the balls in billiards or pool)
break, break of serve -- ((tennis) a score consisting of winning a game when your opponent was serving; "he was up two breaks in the second set")
break, interruption, disruption, gap -- (an act of delaying or interrupting the continuity; "it was presented without commercial breaks"; "there was a gap in his account")
break -- (a sudden dash; "he made a break for the open door")
open frame, break -- (any frame in which a bowler fails to make a strike or spare; "the break in the eighth frame cost him the match")
interrupt, break -- (terminate; "She interrupted her pregnancy"; "break a lucky streak"; "break the cycle of poverty")
break, separate, split up, fall apart, come apart -- (become separated into pieces or fragments; "The figurine broke"; "The freshly baked loaf fell apart")
break -- (render inoperable or ineffective; "You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!")
break, bust -- (ruin completely; "He busted my radio!")
break -- (destroy the integrity of; usually by force; cause to separate into pieces or fragments; "He broke the glass plate"; "She broke the match")
transgress, offend, infract, violate, go against, breach, break -- (act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises; "offend all laws of humanity"; "violate the basic laws or human civilization"; "break a law"; "break a promise")
break, break out, break away -- (move away or escape suddenly; "The horses broke from the stable"; "Three inmates broke jail"; "Nobody can break out--this prison is high security")
break -- (scatter or part; "The clouds broke after the heavy downpour")
break, burst, erupt -- (force out or release suddenly and often violently something pent up; "break into tears"; "erupt in anger")
break, break off, discontinue, stop -- (prevent completion; "stop the project"; "break off the negotiations")
break in, break -- (enter someone's (virtual or real) property in an unauthorized manner, usually with the intent to steal or commit a violent act; "Someone broke in while I was on vacation"; "They broke into my car and stole my radio!"; "who broke into my account last night?")
break in, break -- (make submissive, obedient, or useful; "The horse was tough to break"; "I broke in the new intern")
violate, go against, break -- (fail to agree with; be in violation of; as of rules or patterns; "This sentence violates the rules of syntax")
better, break -- (surpass in excellence; "She bettered her own record"; "break a record")
unwrap, disclose, let on, bring out, reveal, discover, expose, divulge, break, give away, let out -- (make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret; "The auction house would not disclose the price at which the van Gogh had sold"; "The actress won't reveal how old she is"; "bring out the truth"; "he broke the news to her"; "unwrap the evidence in the murder case")
break -- (come into being; "light broke over the horizon"; "Voices broke in the air")
fail, go bad, give way, die, give out, conk out, go, break, break down -- (stop operating or functioning; "The engine finally went"; "The car died on the road"; "The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town"; "The coffee maker broke"; "The engine failed on the way to town"; "her eyesight went after the accident")
break, break away -- (interrupt a continued activity; "She had broken with the traditional patterns")
break -- (make a rupture in the ranks of the enemy or one's own by quitting or fleeing; "The ranks broke")
break -- (curl over and fall apart in surf or foam, of waves; "The surf broke")
dampen, damp, soften, weaken, break -- (lessen in force or effect; "soften a shock"; "break a fall")
break -- (be broken in; "If the new teacher won't break, we'll add some stress")
break -- (come to an end; "The heat wave finally broke yesterday")
break -- (vary or interrupt a uniformity or continuity; "The flat plain was broken by tall mesas")
break -- (cause to give up a habit; "She finally broke herself of smoking cigarettes")
break -- (give up; "break cigarette smoking")
break -- (come forth or begin from a state of latency; "The first winter storm broke over New York")
break -- (happen or take place; "Things have been breaking pretty well for us in the past few months")
break -- (cause the failure or ruin of; "His peccadilloes finally broke his marriage"; "This play will either make or break the playwright")
break -- (invalidate by judicial action; "The will was broken")
separate, part, split up, split, break, break up -- (discontinue an association or relation; go different ways; "The business partners broke over a tax question"; "The couple separated after 25 years of marriage"; "My friend and I split up")
demote, bump, relegate, break, kick downstairs -- (assign to a lower position; reduce in rank; "She was demoted because she always speaks up"; "He was broken down to Sergeant")
bankrupt, ruin, break, smash -- (reduce to bankruptcy; "My daughter's fancy wedding is going to break me!"; "The slump in the financial markets smashed him")
break -- (change directions suddenly)
break -- (emerge from the surface of a body of water; "The whales broke")
collapse, fall in, cave in, give, give way, break, founder -- (break down, literally or metaphorically; "The wall collapsed"; "The business collapsed"; "The dam broke"; "The roof collapsed"; "The wall gave in"; "The roof finally gave under the weight of the ice")
break dance, break-dance, break -- (do a break dance; "Kids were break-dancing at the street corner")
break -- (exchange for smaller units of money; "I had to break a $100 bill just to buy the candy")
break, break up -- (destroy the completeness of a set of related items; "The book dealer would not break the set")
break -- (make the opening shot that scatters the balls)
break -- (separate from a clinch, in boxing; "The referee broke the boxers")
break, wear, wear out, bust, fall apart -- (go to pieces; "The lawn mower finally broke"; "The gears wore out"; "The old chair finally fell apart completely")
break, break off, snap off -- (break a piece from a whole; "break a branch from a tree")
break -- (become punctured or penetrated; "The skin broke")
break -- (pierce or penetrate; "The blade broke her skin")
break, get out, get around -- (be released or become known; of news; "News of her death broke in the morning")
pause, intermit, break -- (cease an action temporarily; "We pause for station identification"; "let's break for lunch")
break -- (interrupt the flow of current in; "break a circuit")