Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
⚡ A safety switch 🌊 A breaking wave ⛏️ A stone worker
breaker

breaker

61 4.3
A switch that stops electricity when too much flows in a circuit
  • noun
  • /ˈbreɪkər/
  • Specialized
: interruptor automático
  • The circuit breakers feature a color-coded status indicator window: red = on, green = off.
  • circuit breaker
  • designed breakers

RMSI draw any more current, the breaker goes OK.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Just flip the red circuit breaker, the biggest one in the box.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • I need you to go to the circuit breaker and check switches six through twelve.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • Track lights are positioned to light them, so I throw the main breaker and switch them on.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • More importantly, turn the breaker off before working on outlets.

  • We've gotta get to the breaker box.

    The Reenactment (2021)

  • The lights trip off as the circuit breaker is blown, leaving everything in semi-darkness.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • I'm just gonna go downstairs, check the circuit breaker, and see if we blew a fuse.

    Masquerade (2021)

  • This is the smart breaker that's used in a substation.

  • AutomationDirect has added the new WMTZ series miniature circuit breaker from the Eaton Corp.

    Academic text (2011)

  • Please turn off the breaker before attempting to repair the electrical wires.

Synonyms

circuit breaker
vsbreaker
  • Specialized
17 3.9

A device that automatically stops electric current to prevent overloads

is narrower, focusing on overload protection rather than short circuit protection
interrupter
vsbreaker
  • Specialized
1 5.8

A device that stops an electric current to protect a circuit

is triggered specifically by overloads as a protective safety measure
cutout
vsbreaker
  • Specialized
1 6.9

A device that stops electrical current when there is an overload

is the general safety device that stops flow specifically for overload protection

Compounds

deal-breaker
  • Informal
38 3.7

A problem that makes someone reject an offer or relationship

circuit breaker
  • Specialized
17 3.9

A device that automatically stops electric current to prevent overloads

record-breaker
3 3.6

A person or thing that beats a previous record

ball-breaker
  • Slur
1 9.9

A woman who is very strict and makes others feel afraid or unhappy

stone breaker
1 6.7

A person who smashes large hard rocks by hand for building or road work

breaker point
  • Archaic
1 8.8

A small metal part in older car engines that opens and closes to send electricity to the spark plugs

ball-breaker
  • Offensive
1 9.1

A very hard task or job that is tiring and difficult

back breaker
  • NSFW
1 9.9

An illegal drug that makes you see things that are not real

image breaker
1 9.9

A person who destroys religious pictures or statues

ship-breaker
1 8.2

A person or company that buys old ships and takes them apart to sell metal

circuit breaker
  • Specialized
4.5

A way in software to stop contacting a failing service to prevent more failures

deal-breaker
  • Informal
4.8

Causing an offer or plan to fail

How Protective

circuit breaker
  • Specialized
17 3.9
breaker
  • Specialized
61 4.3
fuse
  • Specialized
93 4.4

Surface Forms

breaker singular
breakers plural

Morphology

breaker = break (semi-transparent) = break + er

Formed from 'break' + '-er' but the specialised technical sense ('circuit breaker') denotes a specific safety device and may not be fully inferable by lower-level learners from the verb alone.

Etymology

Breaker comes from the verb break ('to stop or open') plus -er, so it means 'something that breaks'. That is why a circuit breaker is a device that 'breaks' the flow of electricity to protect the system.