Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use break in a sentence

40 example sentences · verb, noun

Break means to separate into two or more pieces, to fracture or crack, by a process that cannot easily be reversed for reassembly. Example: “If the vase falls to the floor, it might break.”

Examples of break by meaning

verbTo separate into two or more pieces, to fracture or crack, by a process that cannot easily be reversed for reassembly.

  • If the vase falls to the floor, it might break.
  • In order to tend to the accident victim, he will break the window of the car.
  • Cut the tofu into strips about 1cm thick, mix gently (so it doesn't break) with the marinade and leave in the fridge for half an hour.2012 May 8, Yotam Ottolenghi, Sami Tamimi, Ottolenghi: The Cookbook, Random House, →ISBN, page 79

verbTo crack or fracture (bone) under a physical strain.

  • His ribs broke under the weight of the rocks piled on his chest.
  • He slipped on the ice and broke his leg.

verbTo make the first shot; to scatter the balls from the initial neat arrangement.

  • Is it your or my turn to break?

verbTo divide (something, often money) into smaller units.

  • Can you break a hundred-dollar bill for me?
  • The wholesaler broke the container loads into palettes and boxes for local retailers.

verbTo use a high-value denomination of currency, thus necessitating being given change in smaller denominations.

  • I don't want to break my hundred dollar bill.

verbTo change the orderliness or compactness of an arrangement.

  • The soldier broke formation.

verbTo disrupt the surface of and turn over the body of a substance.

  • You have to break the soil with the ho.

verbTo cause (a person or animal) to lose spirit or will; to crush the spirits of.

  • Her child’s death broke Angela.
  • Interrogators have used many forms of torture to break prisoners of war.
  • The interrogator hoped to break her to get her testimony against her accomplices.

More sentences with break

  • Taking a break from work seems to have done her a world of good.From the entry world
  • He stood the broom in a corner and took a break.From the entry stand
  • The vouchers are redeemable against West End shows and theatre breaks.From the entry against
  • I bet the Jayhawk fast break could show up the Nimrod's lack of speed.From the entry show up
  • Close the trap, would you, before someone falls and breaks their neck.From the entry trap
  • She was moaning for the entire duration of the advert break.From the entry duration
  • That was a long drop, but fortunately I didn’t break any bones.From the entry drop
  • If a nuclear war ever breaks out, military facilities are likely to be nuked first.From the entry nuke
  • The way staff interact with each other during breaks can play an important role in the workplace.From the entry interact
  • When your car breaks down, you can take it to the garage to have it mended.From the entry mend
  • Their pressure defense gives them a lot of fast breaks off of steals.From the entry fast break
  • The team hummed “We Shall Overcome” as they came back onto the field after the break.From the entry hum
  • The children were joyful on the first day of summer break.From the entry joyful
  • They used summary executions to break the resistance of the people.From the entry summary
  • Don't muck about with the video machine, or you might break it.From the entry muck about
  • Leaves and grass will break down into compost faster if you keep them moist.From the entry break down
  • If you don't understand, ask him to break down the numbers for you.From the entry break down
  • It's a lot of work just to break even and keep the weeds down.From the entry break even
  • After Big Tony was sent to prison, his friends got together to break him out.From the entry break out
  • Break out the cables from the harness once they are inside the frame.From the entry break out
  • Maybe we should take a break. I mean, our relationship just isn't making much sense anymore.From the entry make sense
  • His idol bowled a leg break that was sent flying for four.From the entry leg break
  • His friend bowled an off break that was sent flying for six.From the entry off break
  • I’m sorry to break it to you, but your dress looks truly hideous.From the entry hideous
  • Go out there and break a leg tonight. Put on a great show!From the entry break a leg
  • I told my friend to break a leg, before she went on stage.From the entry break a leg

Meaning of break

  1. verb To separate into two or more pieces, to fracture or crack, by a process that cannot easily be reversed for reassembly.
  2. verb To crack or fracture (bone) under a physical strain.
  3. verb To make the first shot; to scatter the balls from the initial neat arrangement.

Full definition of break

Questions about break in a sentence

How do you use break in a sentence?
Break is used as a verb and noun. For example: “If the vase falls to the floor, it might break.”
What is a short sentence with break?
“The soldier broke formation.”
What does break mean?
Break means to separate into two or more pieces, to fracture or crack, by a process that cannot easily be reversed for reassembly.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: break (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use break in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/break. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.