BREAKS Synonyms: 709 Similar and Opposite Words

breaks 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of break

as in disrupts

to cause to separate into pieces usually suddenly or forcibly hated telling her that I had broken her favorite glass vase

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as in stops

to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end the final vote broke the deadlock

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as in reduces

to bring to a lower grade or rank the captain was broken to lieutenant commander for disobeying a direct order from his group commander

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as in deciphers

to change (as a secret message) from code into ordinary language Alan Turing and the Bletchley Park mathematicians broke the Enigma code being used by the Nazis

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as in pauses

to come to a temporary halt in one's activity she broke from her ruminations to find that it was already dinnertime

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as in plows

to cut into and turn over the sod of (a piece of land) using a bladed implement farmers once broke fields with horse-drawn plows

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as in violates

to fail to keep had to confess that he had broken his promise not to share their conversation with anyone

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as in solves

to find an answer for through reasoning Professor Bates broke the problem when she realized that it was possible to synthesize the necessary compounds

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as in damages

to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of I broke a tooth on the hard candy

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as in dies

to stop functioning after working for 30 years, the pump simply broke one day

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starts (up)

as in retreats

to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening the herd of gazelles broke when they saw the lions racing toward them from the ridge above

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as in wears

to use up all the physical energy of the trek up the mountain just about broke me

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as in circulates

to become known as soon as the scandal broke, the CEO fled the country

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as in bankrupts

to cause to lose one's fortune and become unable to pay one's debts another bad investment could break him

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as in begins

to come into existence the crisis had passed, and a new day was breaking

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as in veers

to depart abruptly from a straight line or course the running back broke to his left before running out of bounds

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straightens

as in lowers

to diminish the price or value of distressing economic news that will break many energy stocks

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as in exceeds

to go beyond the limit of a menu with prices that is likely to break the budgets of all but the wealthiest of diners

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as in surfaces

to penetrate the surface (as of water) from below dolphins were breaking all around the boat

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breaks

2 of 2

noun

plural of break

as in lulls

a momentary halt in an activity there was a brief break after the first movement as the doors to the concert hall were opened and the latecomers were allowed in

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as in vacations

a period during which the usual routine of school or work is suspended most of the students at the boarding school are going home for Christmas break

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as in gaps

an open space in a barrier (as a wall or hedge) the rancher repaired the break in the fence where the horse had gotten through

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as in opportunities

a favorable combination of circumstances, time, and place in classic fashion, her big break came when, as an understudy, she took over for an ailing star

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as in accidents

an unexpected benefit or advantage resulting from the uncertain course of events a guy who just seems to get all the breaks in life

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as in escapes

the act or an instance of getting free from danger or confinement a desperate break from that hellhole

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of breaks

Verb

Walter Payton breaks Jim Brown’s career rushing mark of 12,312 yards and Brown’s career mark of 58 100-yard rushing games in a 20-7 victory over New Orleans. — Senior Editor, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026 As dawn breaks on Vijayadashami, the final rituals for the goddess Durga are performed and prayers are invoked. — Tamanna Nangia, Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Oct. 2026 Some of the most popular entries include SCP-173, a concrete statue that attacks anyone who breaks eye contact, and SCP-682, a supremely intelligent reptile that can adapt to any environment and rapidly heal any injury. — Jack Dunn, Variety, 30 Sep. 2026 But about 1 in 20 patients progress to severe dengue, a life-threatening turn that tends to strike just as the fever breaks – often around days three to seven, when patients and their families may wrongly assume the worst is over. — Andrés Henao, CNN Money, 21 Sep. 2026 Dillane, superb in Harris Dickinson’s Urchin, has presence but is somewhat shortchanged by the script’s one-dimensional grasp of Willoughby, the dashing romantic hero revealed to be an opportunistic cad who breaks Marianne’s heart. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 21 Sep. 2026 LLMs are great at finding blowups that exist—at searching the infinite landscape of fluid scenarios and plucking out the precise situation that breaks the equations. — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 21 Sep. 2026 And the Epson WorkForce ES-590W breaks from the others by adding about 2 inches to both its height and depth. — David English, PC Magazine, 19 Sep. 2026 Now, this new work breaks that paradigm with a thin-film material that combines intense structural rigidity with unmatched thermal insulation. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 18 Sep. 2026

Noun

Other incentives contemplated include a special 1% sales tax district in the project area and sales tax breaks on construction materials, city documents show. — Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 6 Oct. 2026 This is encouraging — trustworthy system should be able to pump the breaks and realize when data inputs are too unreliable to make accurate estimations. — Euan Ashley, STAT, 1 Oct. 2026 With no breaks and no rest, the pressure builds as the clock ticks down over an intense 24 hours, pushing even the most accomplished competitors to their limits. — Denise Petski, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2026 The report also indicates there were breaks for players to get water. — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 30 Sep. 2026 Some processes are missing from today’s simulations, so our machine learning model can’t learn about them – for example, how ice cracks and breaks, and how rivers and lakes beneath the ice sheet change over time. — Robert Kopp, The Conversation, 30 Sep. 2026 As the title implies, the show will unfold over a 24-hour period with no breaks for contestants, who will face physical and strategic challenges for a $1 million prize. — Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2026 Taking 5-minute movement breaks can help offset the harmful effects of prolonged sitting. — Ann Pietrangelo, Verywell Health, 29 Sep. 2026 Tuesday continues to be a transition day with clouds and limited breaks of sunshine. — Steven Sosna, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for breaks

Verb

Supporters say changing the clocks disrupts sleep, increases workplace injuries and contributes to more road accidents.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
These numbers complicate the picture of a state workforce unhappy with a new policy that some workers say disrupts their daily lives and question if returning to the office could bring health risks, longer commutes, lost time and higher gas costs.

— Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of disrupts

Verb

The Miami Dolphins aren’t going to beat an opponent this season until South Florida’s NFL franchise stops beating itself.

— Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 4 Oct. 2026
What’s even more interesting is that the pattern persists above the temperature where uranium ditelluride stops being superconducting.

— Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of stops

Verb

Automating classification while reserving human review for high-risk cases strengthens governance, improves compliance and reduces the risk of sensitive data exposure.

— Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026
Northrop Grumman slashes overall weight and reduces total part counts, manufacturing combat-ready autonomous jets at a fraction of typical costs.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of reduces

Verb

Qualcomm’s chip can run Linux, along with Arduino software, and can even do computer vision, which deciphers what a camera sees and translates it into software.

— Kif Leswing, CNBC, 7 Oct. 2025
With that base knowledge and his opponent’s game tape, Nolan analyzes wide receiver alignments and deciphers the offense's attack.

— Caleb Yum, Austin American Statesman, 18 Sep. 2025

Definition of deciphers

Verb

An employee pauses an invoice because something looks unusual.

— Doug Shannon, Forbes.com, 6 Oct. 2026
Some of these changes are noticeable without any special technology, says Ibañez, including slower speech, longer pauses, a flatter emotional tone, trouble finding the right word, or vaguer, less specific language.

— Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of pauses

Verb

KaVontae Turpin makes a defender miss in the open field on third down, picks up the first, and Williams plows it in for the TD.

— Jim Barnes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Sep. 2026
Every year, our planet plows through this stream of cometary material, causing tiny fragments — many no larger than a grain of sand — to slam into Earth's atmosphere at around 133,000 mph (214,000 km/h).

— Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of plows

Verb

The court recognized that an employer’s authority to terminate an at-will employee can be limited when a discharge violates fundamental public policy.

— William Jones, Sacbee.com, 2 Oct. 2026
The groups argued that the agency’s move violates its obligations under the Clean Air Act.

— Maydeen Merino, The Washington Examiner, 1 Oct. 2026