Word.ws English Dictionary

honoring in the breach

honoring in the breach is the present participle and gerund of honor in the breach.

Meaning of honor in the breach

Verb

honor in the breach (third-person singular simple present honors in the breach, present participle honoring in the breach, simple past and past participle honored in the breach)

  1. (US, idiomatic, transitive) To demonstrate (a rule, law, or policy) by breaking or breaching it.
    • Hamlet: Ay, marry, is't:
      But to my mind, though I am native here
      And to the manner born, it is a custom
      More honour'd in the breach than the observance.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...

Questions about honoring in the breach

What is honoring in the breach the present participle and gerund of?
Honoring in the breach is the present participle and gerund of honor in the breach.

Words near honoring in the breach in the dictionary

  1. honorifically
  2. honorification
  3. honorifications
  4. honorifics
  5. honoring
  6. honoring in the breach
  7. honoris causa
  8. Honorius
  9. honorless
  10. honorlessness
  11. honorous

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: honoring in the breach (page history and authors); honor in the breach (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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