Word.ws English Dictionary

broke a sweat

broke a sweat is the simple past of break a sweat.

Meaning of break a sweat

Verb

break a sweat (third-person singular simple present breaks a sweat, present participle breaking a sweat, simple past broke a sweat, past participle broken a sweat)

  1. To start sweating, especially due to physical exertion.
    • Are you feeling stronger and more energetic, and even—dare I say it—breaking a sweat? No, not a pink-faced, dripping sweat; nevertheless, a little dewy under the arms and around your forehead.2001, Karon Karter, The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Pilates Method, →ISBN, page 119
  2. (idiomatic) To put effort into something; to struggle.
    • He always succeeds effortlessly and never breaks a sweat.

Questions about broke a sweat

What is broke a sweat the simple past of?
Broke a sweat is the simple past of break a sweat.

Words near broke a sweat in the dictionary

  1. broke a fly on the wheel
  2. broke a fly upon a wheel
  3. broke a fly upon the wheel
  4. broke a lance
  5. broke a promise
  6. broke a sweat
  7. broke and entered
  8. broke apart
  9. broke away
  10. broke back
  11. broke bad

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: broke a sweat (page history and authors); break a sweat (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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