Word.ws English Dictionary

break one's back

break one's back verb: used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see break, back. Also the alternative form of break the back of.

Verb

break one's back (third-person singular simple present breaks one's back, present participle breaking one's back, simple past broke one's back, past participle broken one's back)

  1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see break, back.

Also used as

break one's back is also the alternative form of break the back of.

Forms of break one's back

third-person singular presentbreaks one's back
present participlebreaking one's back
pastbroke one's back
past participlebroken one's back

Questions about break one's back

What does break one's back mean?
Break one's back means used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see break, back.
What part of speech is break one's back?
Break one's back is a verb.
What is the past tense of break one's back?
The past tense of break one's back is broke one's back.

Words near break one's back in the dictionary

  1. break on
  2. break on the wheel
  3. break one off
  4. break one's arm patting oneself on the back
  5. break one's ass
  6. break one's back
  7. break one's balls
  8. break one's chops
  9. break one's duck
  10. break one's fall
  11. break one's fast

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: break one's back (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.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-break one's back.ogg.

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