break

How to sign: 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";

Similiar / Same: go bad, conk out, fail, give way, die, give out, break down, go

Categories: change

Within this category: blow out, crash, malfunction, misfire

break

How to sign: 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";

Similiar / Same: collapse, fall in, cave in, give way, founder, give

Categories: change

Within this category: break, buckle, flop, implode, slump

break

How to sign: a pause from doing something (as work)
"we took a 10-minute break"; "he took time out to recuperate";

Similiar / Same: time out, respite, recess

Categories: pause

Within this category: spring break

break

How to sign: 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;

Similiar / Same: disclose, let on, divulge, reveal, expose, give away, let out, impart, discover, bring out

Categories: tell

Within this category: betray, blackwash, blow, come out of the closet, confide, leak, muckrake, out, reveal, spill the beans, spring

break

How to sign: assign to a lower position; reduce in rank
"She was demoted because she always speaks up"; "He was broken down to Sargeant";

See also: murder, slay, bump off, polish off, dispatch, remove, hit

Similiar / Same: demote, kick downstairs, relegate

Categories: assign, delegate, depute, designate

Within this category: reduce

break

How to sign: become separated into pieces or fragments
"The figurine broke"; "The freshly baked loaf fell apart";

See also: decompose, break down, break up

Similiar / Same: come apart, split up, fall apart, separate

Categories: change integrity

Within this category: break up, burst, burst, crush, ladder, puncture, smash, snap

break

How to sign: an escape from jail
"the breakout was carefully planned";

Similiar / Same: breakout, jailbreak, gaolbreak, prisonbreak, prison-breaking

Categories: escape, flight

break

How to sign: come to an end
"The heat wave finally broke yesterday";

Categories: cease, end, finish, stop, terminate

break

How to sign: reduce to bankruptcy
"My daughter's fancy wedding is going to break me!"; "The slump in the financial markets smashed him";

Similiar / Same: bankrupt, ruin, smash

Categories: impoverish

break

How to sign: become fractured; break or crack on the surface only
"The glass cracked when it was heated";

Similiar / Same: crack, check

Categories: change

Within this category: crack

break

How to sign: act in disregard of laws and rules
"offend all laws of humanity"; "violate the basic laws or human civilization"; "break a law";

Similiar / Same: transgress, infract, breach, offend, violate, go against

Categories: disrespect

Within this category: conflict, sin, sin, trespass, trespass

break

How to sign: fail to agree with; be in violation of; as of rules or patterns
"This sentence violates the rules of syntax";

Similiar / Same: violate, go against

Within this category: fly in the face of

break

How to sign: break a piece from a whole
"break a branch from a tree";

Similiar / Same: snap off, break off

Categories: detach

break

How to sign: cease an action temporarily
"We pause for station identification"; "let's break for lunch";

Similiar / Same: intermit, pause

Categories: break up, cut off, disrupt, interrupt

Within this category: rest, take five, take ten

break

How to sign: an unexpected piece of good luck
"he finally got his big break";

Similiar / Same: happy chance, good luck

Categories: accident, chance event, fortuity

break

How to sign: render inoperable or ineffective
"You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!";

Categories: damage

break

How to sign: force out or release suddenly and often violently something pent up
"break into tears"; "erupt in anger";

Similiar / Same: burst, erupt

Categories: express emotion, express feelings

break

How to sign: the occurrence of breaking
"the break in the dam threatened the valley";

Categories: breakup, detachment, separation

Within this category: snap

break

How to sign: the opening shot that scatters the balls in billiards or pool

Categories: shot, stroke

break

How to sign: (tennis) a score consisting of winning a game when your opponent was serving
"he was up two breaks in the second set";

Similiar / Same: break of serve

Categories: score

break

How to sign: enter someone's 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!";

Similiar / Same: break in

Categories: intrude, trespass

break

How to sign: make submissive, obedient, or useful
"The horse was tough to break"; "I broke in the new intern";

Similiar / Same: break in

Categories: domesticate, domesticise, domesticize, reclaim, tame

break

How to sign: come into being
"light broke over the horizon"; "Voices broke in the air";

Categories: become, get, go

break

How to sign: curl over and fall apart in surf or foam, of waves
"The surf broke";

Categories: break, cave in, collapse, fall in, founder, give, give way

break

How to sign: 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";

Similiar / Same: part, break up, split up, split, separate

Within this category: break, break with, disassociate, disunify, divorce, give the axe, secede

break

How to sign: find the solution or key to
"break the code";

Categories: figure out, lick, puzzle out, solve, work, work out

break

How to sign: of the male voice in puberty
"his voice is breaking--he should no longer sing in the choir";

Categories: change state, turn