Word.ws English Dictionary

break and enter

break and enter noun: an instance of breaking and entering.

Noun

break and enter (plural break and enters)

  1. An instance of breaking and entering.
    • For example, an offender convicted of two crimes, such as break and enter and possession of burglary instruments, is sentenced to a one-year term of imprisonment. It is not clear, however, what portion of the sentence was imposed for the break and enter and what portion for the possession of...1999, Julian V. Roberts, David P. Cole, Making Sense of Sentencing, →ISBN, page 139
    • In the anti-social peer group, if one member suggests a break and enter, or car theft, as a way to pass an evening, the others are likely to agree without thinking of alternatives or possible consequences.2006, Katherine Covell, R. Brian Howe, The Challenge of Children’s Rights for Canada, →ISBN, page 98

Verb

break and enter (third-person singular simple present breaks and enters, present participle breaking and entering, simple past broke and entered, past participle broken and entered)

  1. To gain unauthorized entry into another's property by force or illicit means; to break in and enter without permission.
    • The thief may steal from the person — or he may break and enter any office, shop, or warehouse not occupied with a dwelling house — or any shop or vessel — or in the night time he may enter, or in the day time he may break and enter, any dwelling house, or the out houses occupied with it, or any...1836, The American Jurist and Law Magazine - Volume 14, page 29
    • They may pursue him into another State; may arrest him on the Sabbath; and, if necessary, may break and enter his house for that purpose.2007, John Dempsey, Introduction to Private Security, →ISBN, page 323

Examples of break and enter in a sentence

  • For example, an offender convicted of two crimes, such as break and enter and possession of burglary instruments, is sentenced to a one-year term of imprisonment.1999, Julian V. Roberts, David P. Cole, Making Sense of Sentencing, →ISBN, page 139:
  • The resulting data-set includes 11,991 violent crimes, 23,262 break and enters, and 36,720 automotive thefts.2017, Jeffery T. Walker, Social, Ecological and Environmental Theories of Crime, →ISBN:
  • Rather maintained to that esteemed group, that a journalist should break and enter if need be and trespass upon law and private property because the public had “a right to know”?2011, Rick Sirmon, In Search of George Washington: The Story of the 28Th Amendment, →ISBN:

Forms of break and enter

Noun
pluralbreak and enters
Verb
third-person singular presentbreaks and enters
present participlebreaking and entering
pastbroke and entered
past participlebroken and entered

Questions about break and enter

What does break and enter mean?
Break and enter means an instance of breaking and entering.
How do you use break and enter in a sentence?
For example, an offender convicted of two crimes, such as break and enter and possession of burglary instruments, is sentenced to a one-year term of imprisonment.
What part of speech is break and enter?
Break and enter can be a noun or a verb.
What is the plural of break and enter?
The plural of break and enter is break and enters.

Words near break and enter in the dictionary

  1. break a fly upon the wheel
  2. break a lance
  3. break a leg
  4. break a promise
  5. break a sweat
  6. break and enter
  7. break and enters
  8. break and entry
  9. break apart
  10. break ass
  11. break away

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: break and enter (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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