breaking

verb

Definition of breakingnext
present participle of break
1
as in disrupting
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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2
as in stopping
to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end the final vote broke the deadlock

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3
as in reducing
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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4
as in deciphering
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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5
as in pausing
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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6
as in plowing
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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7
as in violating
to fail to keep had to confess that he had broken his promise not to share their conversation with anyone

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8
as in solving
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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9
as in damaging
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of I broke a tooth on the hard candy

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10
as in dying
to stop functioning after working for 30 years, the pump simply broke one day

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11
as in retreating
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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12
as in wearing
to use up all the physical energy of the trek up the mountain just about broke me

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13
as in spreading
to become known as soon as the scandal broke, the CEO fled the country

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14
as in bankrupting
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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15
as in originating
to come into existence the crisis had passed, and a new day was breaking

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16
as in veering
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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17
as in lowering
to diminish the price or value of distressing economic news that will break many energy stocks

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18
as in exceeding
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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19
as in surfacing
to penetrate the surface (as of water) from below dolphins were breaking all around the boat

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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 breaking The single most difficult part of Rainbeau’s job last season was to stay up on lates with Solène, having to do both their jobs while Solène was busy having a glass of wine or breaking someone’s heart. — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2026 Katie Zacharia made her debut as Donald Trump‘s new White House press secretary on Tuesday with a very short briefing that nevertheless offered a bit of breaking news as well as a lot of praise and thanks for her new boss. — Ted Johnson, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026 While the idea of slowly, safely developing a potentially society-breaking technology may sound appealing, the financial incentives may be too high for that to ever happen. — Emily Forlini, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026 More than 40 years later, the E-Space Concept is breaking design conventions in a similar way. — New Atlas, 13 Oct. 2026 Ramírez helped the Guardians get two more by breaking for third with two outs and two strikes on Adell. — Rob Maaddi, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026 The movie is breaking box office records in Spain, climbing week after week. — Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 13 Oct. 2026 Overnight, fresh Russian drone attacks hit Ukraine, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accusing Moscow of breaking the ceasefire and warning that his country will retaliate. — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 13 Oct. 2026 So joining at all was breaking the rules and keeping a secret. — Richard Hall, Time, 7 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for breaking
  1. disrupting
  2. stopping
  3. reducing
  4. deciphering
  5. pausing
  6. plowing
  7. violating
  8. solving
Verb
  • While such attacks are not unprecedented — Iranian strikes hit data centers in Bahrain and the UAE earlier this year — their fallout reaches far beyond the battlefield, disrupting the services civilians and businesses rely on.
    — Lauren Morganbesser, semafor.com, 11 Oct. 2026
  • In Belgium, meanwhile, students joined demonstrations alongside striking workers as the country's two largest labour unions staged a national strike on Friday, disrupting public transport, air travel and other sectors.
    — Makini Brice, Arkansas Online, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of disrupting
Verb
  • But Hurts threw incomplete on first down, wasting only four seconds and stopping the clock.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The crackdown extended beyond the protest venue, with police stopping buses, cars and other vehicles at checkpoints on routes into the capital and searching for demonstrators.
    — Sheikh Saaliq, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of stopping
Verb
  • Recently, the sector has been affected by El Nino, which brings weak monsoons and dry weather, reducing yields and sucrose recovery.
    — Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Other options include reducing the level of your contributions, although there is a minimum of 5% of pay for employees and 3% for employers.
    — Marc Shoffman, TheWeek, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of reducing
Verb
  • In addition to developing better medicines or perfumes, deciphering the mirror images of molecules can help scientists understand the chemical architecture of life, said chemist Holden Thorp, editor-in-chief of the journal Science.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 8 Oct. 2026
  • In addition to developing better medicines or fragrances, deciphering the mirror images of molecules can help scientists understand the chemical architecture of life, said chemist Holden Thorp, editor in chief of the journal Science.
    — Adithi Ramakrishnan, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of deciphering
Verb
  • The pushback against data centers continues to spread across the Bay Area and across the country, with San Francisco and Oakland joining others in pausing their development.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026
  • On Friday, the Senate Leadership Fund, the super PAC aligned with Senate Republican leadership, began a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign in Kansas to support Marshall while pausing additional spending in North Carolina, Semafor reported.
    — Luke Fountain, CNBC, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of pausing
Verb
  • The House Democrats’ campaign arm is now plowing extra resources into the gerrymandered seat in Tennessee.
    — Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2026
  • The private sector, which has so far gotten back about $100 billion, is trying to do some of the work itself by plowing the money into price cuts and parceling out refunds.
    — Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of plowing
Verb
  • Massie’s Hegseth resolution, among other allegations, lays out charges of violating Congress’ war powers and carrying out extrajudicial killings.
    — Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Two officers who conducted the internal investigation into Martin’s use of force sued the city for violating the Whistleblower Act, alleging they were retaliated against for recommending to Fitzgerald that Martin be fired.
    — Emily Holshouser, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of violating
Verb
  • Others said the approach OpenAI and other AI companies have taken to solving mathematical problems constitutes an assault on mathematics as a human academic discipline.
    — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2026
  • The cable outlet has picked up a second season of the show, which stars Tracy Spiridakos (Chicago PD) as a crime-solving national park ranger.
    — Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of solving

Phrases Containing breaking

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break-in
breaking
breaking bread
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Cite this Entry

“Breaking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breaking. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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