to break
- verb
- /breɪk/
- Don't break my heart... just yet.
- voice breaks
Now you might have heard first line voice broke.
- Now you might have heard first line voice broke.
- My voice is break but yes I'll check them out.
Examples
-
She was crying, and she said, "This works just killing me, it's breaking my heart."
-
"Will they consider me now?" she said, her voice small and breaking as she spoke.
Fiction book (1993) -
Just somethin' about that little girl, sick, without a mama, it just breaks my heart.
-
I'm glad to, I whispered, voice breaking on the last word.
-
With a tremor of vulnerability in her voice that broke his heart, Lisa said, "We owe you so much."
Fiction book (1991) -
It breaks my heart.
-
"There's still one in my hand," and his voice broke again, and tears welled up and spilled over.
Fiction book (1990) -
I could hear her voice break during the emotional speech.
-
His voice began to break as he spoke about his childhood.
-
She felt her voice break when telling the touching story.
Synonyms
To become lower in voice, usually during puberty
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
How Unsteady
Surface Forms
Etymology
Break comes from an old English word brecan meaning 'to crack' or 'snap'. When a voice 'breaks' it suddenly cracks or changes pitch, just like something that snaps.