Word.ws English Dictionary

break one's word

break one's word verb: to break a promise one has made.

Verb

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

  1. To break a promise one has made.
    Synonyms:
    go back on one's word, break one's promise, renege on one's promise
    Antonyms:
    keep one's word, stay true to one's word, be as good as one's word, deliver the goods

Synonyms of break one's word

Antonyms

Forms of break one's word

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

Questions about break one's word

What does break one's word mean?
Break one's word means to break a promise one has made.
What part of speech is break one's word?
Break one's word is a verb.
What is the past tense of break one's word?
The past tense of break one's word is broke one's word.

Words near break one's word in the dictionary

  1. break one's lance
  2. break one's maiden
  3. break one's neck
  4. break one's promise
  5. break one's stride
  6. break one's word
  7. break open
  8. break out
  9. break point
  10. break points
  11. break ranks

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: break one's word (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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