to break
- verb
- /breɪk/
- Jargon
- Break it up!
Examples
-
Hey break it... hey, hey break it up.
-
All right.Break it up!
-
- Break it up down there.
-
If that ref says break, I want you to break clean, any questions?
-
Drew and Gao immediately break apart, breathing heavily and staring daggers at each other.
Fiction book (1991) -
Creed breaks the clinch.
-
The referee called for the boxers to break when they got too tangled in a clinch.
-
After the punch, the referee had to step in and break the two fighters apart.
-
During the match, the referee warned the fighters and decided to break them up to ensure safety.
Synonyms
Interrupt an activity so it stops for a short time
Antonyms
Idioms
To overcome barriers that stop women or minority groups getting higher jobs
- Informal
A sudden time when many people lose control and chaos starts
- Informal
To do new or difficult things on purpose to learn and grow
A phrase that says hurt to the body is worse than insults and words do not hurt
Phrasal Verbs
- Informal
End a relationship with someone, for example a romantic or business partner
To stop something suddenly before it is finished, for example a talk or relationship
- Specialized
To make something separate into smaller parts by a chemical process
- Jargon
To speak directly to the audience during a play or film to show the story is not real
- Jargon
To remove communication barriers between teams so they can work together
Take part in activities usually not allowed on the Sabbath, like working or traveling
Compounds
- Specialized
A smaller tax people or companies must pay to encourage certain activities
- Jargon
A quick attack where a team moves fast down the court to score before the defense sets up
Surface Forms
Etymology
Break comes from an old English word brecan meaning 'to separate'. When a referee tells boxers to 'break', they must separate and stop the hold.