Break vs. Pierce
Breakverb
To separate into two or more pieces, to fracture or crack, by a process that cannot easily be reversed for reassembly.
Breakverb
To crack or fracture (bone) under a physical strain.
Breakverb
(transitive) To divide (something, often money) into smaller units.
Breakverb
(transitive) To cause (a person or animal) to lose spirit or will; to crush the spirits of.
Breakverb
(intransitive) To be crushed, or overwhelmed with sorrow or grief.
Breakverb
(transitive) To interrupt; to destroy the continuity of; to dissolve or terminate.
Breakverb
(transitive) To ruin financially.
Breakverb
(transitive) To violate, to not adhere to.
Breakverb
To pass the most dangerous part of the illness; to go down, in terms of temperature.
Breakverb
To end.
Breakverb
To begin; to end.
Breakverb
To arrive.
Breakverb
To render (a game) unchallenging by altering its rules or exploiting loopholes or weaknesses in them in a way that gives a player an unfair advantage.
Breakverb
To stop, or to cause to stop, functioning properly or altogether.
Breakverb
To cause (some feature of a program or piece of software) to stop functioning properly; to cause a regression.
Breakverb
(transitive) To cause (a barrier) to no longer bar.
Breakverb
(specifically) To cause the shell of (an egg) to crack, so that the inside (yolk) is accessible.
Breakverb
(specifically) To open (a safe) without using the correct key, combination, or the like.
Breakverb
(transitive) To destroy the arrangement of; to throw into disorder; to pierce.
Breakverb
To collapse into surf, after arriving in shallow water.
Breakverb
(intransitive) To burst forth; to make its way; to come into view.
Breakverb
(intransitive) To interrupt or cease one's work or occupation temporarily.
Breakverb
(transitive) To interrupt (a fall) by inserting something so that the falling object does not (immediately) hit something else beneath.
Breakverb
To disclose or make known an item of news, etc.
Breakverb
To become audible suddenly.
Breakverb
(transitive) To change a steady state abruptly.
Breakverb
To suddenly become.
Breakverb
(intransitive) Of a male voice, to become deeper at puberty.
Breakverb
(intransitive) Of a voice, to alter in type due to emotion or strain: in men generally to go up, in women sometimes to go down; to crack.
Breakverb
(transitive) To surpass or do better than (a specific number), to do better than (a record), setting a new record.
Breakverb
:
Breakverb
To win a game (against one's opponent) as receiver.
Breakverb
To make the first shot; to scatter the balls from the initial neat arrangement.
Breakverb
To remove one of the two men on (a point).
Breakverb
To demote, to reduce the military rank of.
Breakverb
(transitive) To end (a connection), to disconnect.
Breakverb
To demulsify.
Breakverb
To counter-attack
Breakverb
To lay open, as a purpose; to disclose, divulge, or communicate.
Breakverb
(intransitive) To become weakened in constitution or faculties; to lose health or strength.
Breakverb
To fail in business; to become bankrupt.
Breakverb
(transitive) To destroy the strength, firmness, or consistency of.
Breakverb
(transitive) To destroy the official character and standing of; to cashier; to dismiss.
Breakverb
(intransitive) To make an abrupt or sudden change; to change the gait.
Breakverb
To fall out; to terminate friendship.
Breaknoun
An instance of breaking something into two or more pieces.
Breaknoun
A physical space that opens up in something or between two things.
Breaknoun
A rest or pause, usually from work.
Breaknoun
A short holiday.
Breaknoun
A temporary split with a romantic partner.
Breaknoun
An interval or intermission between two parts of a performance, for example a theatre show, broadcast, or sports game.
Breaknoun
A significant change in circumstance, attitude, perception, or focus of attention.
Breaknoun
The beginning (of the morning).
Breaknoun
An act of escaping.
Breaknoun
The separation between lines or paragraphs of a written text.
Breaknoun
A change, particularly the end of a spell of persistent good or bad weather.
Breaknoun
:
Breaknoun
(tennis) A game won by the receiving player(s).
Breaknoun
The first shot in a game of billiards
Breaknoun
(snooker) The number of points scored by one player in one visit to the table
Breaknoun
(soccer) The counter-attack
Breaknoun
(surfing) A place where waves break (that is, where waves pitch or spill forward creating white water).
Breaknoun
(dated) A large four-wheeled carriage, having a straight body and calash top, with the driver's seat in front and the footman's behind.
Breaknoun
(equitation) A sharp bit or snaffle.
Breaknoun
(music) A short section of music, often between verses, in which some performers stop while others continue.
Breaknoun
(music) The point in the musical scale at which a woodwind instrument is designed to overblow, that is, to move from its lower to its upper register.
Breaknoun
(music) A section of extended repetition of the percussion break to a song, created by a hip-hop DJ as rhythmic dance music.
Breakverb
To strain apart; to sever by fracture; to divide with violence; as, to break a rope or chain; to break a seal; to break an axle; to break rocks or coal; to break a lock.
Breakverb
To lay open as by breaking; to divide; as, to break a package of goods.
Breakverb
To lay open, as a purpose; to disclose, divulge, or communicate.
Breakverb
To infringe or violate, as an obligation, law, or promise.
Breakverb
To interrupt; to destroy the continuity of; to dissolve or terminate; as, to break silence; to break one's sleep; to break one's journey.
Breakverb
To destroy the completeness of; to remove a part from; as, to break a set.
Breakverb
To destroy the arrangement of; to throw into disorder; to pierce; as, the cavalry were not able to break the British squares.
Breakverb
To shatter to pieces; to reduce to fragments.
Breakverb
To exchange for other money or currency of smaller denomination; as, to break a five dollar bill.
Breakverb
To destroy the strength, firmness, or consistency of; as, to break flax.
Breakverb
To weaken or impair, as health, spirit, or mind.
Breakverb
To diminish the force of; to lessen the shock of, as a fall or blow.
Breakverb
To impart, as news or information; to broach; - with to, and often with a modified word implying some reserve; as, to break the news gently to the widow; to break a purpose cautiously to a friend.
Breakverb
To tame; to reduce to subjection; to make tractable; to discipline; as, to break a horse to the harness or saddle.
Breakverb
To destroy the financial credit of; to make bankrupt; to ruin.
Breakverb
To destroy the official character and standing of; to cashier; to dismiss.
Breakverb
To come apart or divide into two or more pieces, usually with suddenness and violence; to part; to burst asunder.
Breakverb
To open spontaneously, or by pressure from within, as a bubble, a tumor, a seed vessel, a bag.
Breakverb
To burst forth; to make its way; to come to view; to appear; to dawn.
Breakverb
To burst forth violently, as a storm.
Breakverb
To open up; to be scattered; to be dissipated; as, the clouds are breaking.
Breakverb
To become weakened in constitution or faculties; to lose health or strength.
Breakverb
To be crushed, or overwhelmed with sorrow or grief; as, my heart is breaking.
Breakverb
To fall in business; to become bankrupt.
Breakverb
To make an abrupt or sudden change; to change the gait; as, to break into a run or gallop.
Breakverb
To fail in musical quality; as, a singer's voice breaks when it is strained beyond its compass and a tone or note is not completed, but degenerates into an unmusical sound instead. Also, to change in tone, as a boy's voice at puberty.
Breakverb
To fall out; to terminate friendship.
Breaknoun
An opening made by fracture or disruption.
Breaknoun
An interruption of continuity; change of direction; as, a break in a wall; a break in the deck of a ship.
Breaknoun
An interruption; a pause; as, a break in friendship; a break in the conversation.
Breaknoun
An interruption in continuity in writing or printing, as where there is an omission, an unfilled line, etc.
Breaknoun
The first appearing, as of light in the morning; the dawn; as, the break of day; the break of dawn.
Breaknoun
A large four-wheeled carriage, having a straight body and calash top, with the driver's seat in front and the footman's behind.
Breaknoun
A device for checking motion, or for measuring friction. See Brake, n. 9 & 10.
Breaknoun
See Commutator.
Breaknoun
some abrupt occurrence that interrupts;
Breaknoun
an unexpected piece of good luck;
Breaknoun
(geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other;
Breaknoun
a personal or social separation (as between opposing factions);
Breaknoun
a pause from doing something (as work);
Breaknoun
the act of breaking something;
Breaknoun
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
Breaknoun
breaking of hard tissue such as bone;
Breaknoun
the occurrence of breaking;
Breaknoun
the opening shot that scatters the balls in billiards or pool
Breaknoun
(tennis) a score consisting of winning a game when your opponent was serving;
Breaknoun
an act of delaying or interrupting the continuity;
Breaknoun
a sudden dash;
Breaknoun
any frame in which a bowler fails to make a strike or spare;
Breaknoun
an escape from jail;
Breakverb
terminate;
Breakverb
become separated into pieces or fragments;
Breakverb
destroy the integrity of; usually by force; cause to separate into pieces or fragments;
Breakverb
render inoperable or ineffective;
Breakverb
ruin completely;
Breakverb
act in disregard of laws and rules;
Breakverb
move away or escape suddenly;
Breakverb
scatter or part;
Breakverb
force out or release suddenly and often violently something pent up;
Breakverb
prevent completion;
Breakverb
enter someone's property in an unauthorized manner, usually with the intent to steal or commit a violent act;
Breakverb
make submissive, obedient, or useful;
Breakverb
fail to agree with; be in violation of; as of rules or patterns;
Breakverb
surpass in excellence;
Breakverb
make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret;
Breakverb
come into being;
Breakverb
stop operating or functioning;
Breakverb
interrupt a continued activity;
Breakverb
make a rupture in the ranks of the enemy or one's own by quitting or fleeing;
Breakverb
curl over and fall apart in surf or foam, of waves;
Breakverb
lessen in force or effect;
Breakverb
be broken in;
Breakverb
come to an end;
Breakverb
vary or interrupt a uniformity or continuity;
Breakverb
cause to give up a habit;
Breakverb
give up;
Breakverb
come forth or begin from a state of latency;
Breakverb
happen or take place;
Breakverb
cause the failure or ruin of;
Breakverb
invalidate by judicial action;
Breakverb
discontinue an association or relation; go different ways;
Breakverb
assign to a lower position; reduce in rank;
Breakverb
reduce to bankruptcy;
Breakverb
change directions suddenly
Breakverb
emerge from the surface of a body of water;
Breakverb
break down, literally or metaphorically;
Breakverb
do a break dance;
Breakverb
exchange for smaller units of money;
Breakverb
destroy the completeness of a set of related items;
Breakverb
make the opening shot that scatters the balls
Breakverb
separate from a clinch, in boxing;
Breakverb
go to pieces;
Breakverb
break a piece from a whole;
Breakverb
become punctured or penetrated;
Breakverb
pierce or penetrate;
Breakverb
be released or become known; of news;
Breakverb
cease an action temporarily;
Breakverb
interrupt the flow of current in;
Breakverb
undergo breaking;
Breakverb
find a flaw in;
Breakverb
find the solution or key to;
Breakverb
change suddenly from one tone quality or register to another;
Breakverb
happen;
Breakverb
become fractured; break or crack on the surface only;
Breakverb
of the male voice in puberty;
Breakverb
fall sharply;
Breakverb
fracture a bone of;
Breakverb
diminish or discontinue abruptly;
Breakverb
weaken or destroy in spirit or body;
Breakverb
separate into pieces as a result of a blow, shock, or strain
Breakverb
sustain an injury involving the fracture of a bone or bones in a part of the body
Breakverb
cause a cut or graze in (the skin)
Breakverb
make or become inoperative
Breakverb
(of the amniotic fluid surrounding a fetus) be discharged when the sac is ruptured in the first stages of labour
Breakverb
open (a safe) forcibly.
Breakverb
use (a banknote) to pay for something and receive change out of the transaction
Breakverb
(of two boxers or wrestlers) come out of a clinch, especially at the referee's command
Breakverb
make the first stroke at the beginning of a game of billiards, pool, or snooker.
Breakverb
unfurl (a flag or sail).
Breakverb
succeed in deciphering (a code)
Breakverb
disprove (an alibi).
Breakverb
interrupt (a continuity, sequence, or course)
Breakverb
put an end to (a silence) by speaking or making contact
Breakverb
make a pause in (a journey)
Breakverb
stop proceedings in order to have a pause or vacation
Breakverb
lessen the impact of (a fall)
Breakverb
disconnect or interrupt (an electric circuit)
Breakverb
stop oneself from engaging in (a habitual practice)
Breakverb
surpass (a record)
Breakverb
fail to observe (a law, regulation, or agreement)
Breakverb
fail to continue with (a self-imposed discipline)
Breakverb
crush the emotional strength, spirit, or resistance of
Breakverb
(of a person's emotional strength or control) give way
Breakverb
destroy the power of (a movement or organization)
Breakverb
destroy the effectiveness of (a strike), typically by moving in other people to replace the striking workers
Breakverb
(of the weather) change suddenly, especially after a fine spell
Breakverb
(of a storm) begin violently
Breakverb
(of dawn or a day) begin as the sun rises
Breakverb
(of clouds) move apart and begin to disperse
Breakverb
(of waves) curl over and dissolve into foam
Breakverb
(of a person's voice) falter and change tone, due to emotion
Breakverb
(of a boy's voice) change in tone and register at puberty
Breakverb
(of a vowel) develop into a diphthong, under the influence of an adjacent sound.
Breakverb
(of prices on the stock exchange) fall sharply.
Breakverb
(of news or a scandal) suddenly become public
Breakverb
make bad news known to (someone)
Breakverb
(chiefly of an attacking player or team, or of a military force) make a rush or dash in a particular direction
Breakverb
(of a bowled cricket ball) change direction on bouncing, due to spin.
Breakverb
(of a ball) rebound unpredictably
Breaknoun
an interruption of continuity or uniformity
Breaknoun
an act of separating oneself from a pre-existing state of affairs
Breaknoun
a change in the weather
Breaknoun
a change of line, paragraph, or page
Breaknoun
a change of tone in a person's voice due to emotion
Breaknoun
an interruption in an electric circuit.
Breaknoun
the winning of a game against an opponent's serve.
Breaknoun
a pause in work or during an activity or event
Breaknoun
an interval during the school day
Breaknoun
a short holiday
Breaknoun
a short solo or instrumental passage in jazz or popular music.
Breaknoun
dance music featuring breakbeats.
Breaknoun
a gap or opening
Breaknoun
an instance of breaking something, or the point where something is broken
Breaknoun
a rush or dash in a particular direction, especially by an attacking player or team
Breaknoun
an escape, typically from prison.
Breaknoun
a change in the direction of a bowled ball on bouncing.
Breaknoun
an opportunity or chance, especially one leading to professional success
Breaknoun
a consecutive series of successful shots, scoring a specified number of points
Breaknoun
a player's turn to make the opening shot of a game
Breaknoun
a bud or shoot sprouting from a stem.
Breaknoun
former term for breaking cart
Breaknoun
another term for brake
Pierceverb
(transitive) to puncture; to break through
Pierceverb
(transitive) to create a hole in the skin for the purpose of inserting jewelry
Pierceverb
(transitive) to break or interrupt abruptly
Pierceverb
To get to the heart or crux of (a matter).
Pierceverb
To penetrate; to affect deeply.
Pierceverb
(Japan) A pierced earring.
Pierceverb
To thrust into, penetrate, or transfix, with a pointed instrument.
Pierceverb
To penetrate; to enter; to force a way into or through; to pass into or through; as, to pierce the enemy's line; a shot pierced the ship.
Pierceverb
Fig.: To penetrate; to affect deeply; as, to pierce a mystery.
Pierceverb
To enter; to penetrate; to make a way into or through something, as a pointed instrument does; - used literally and figuratively.
Piercenoun
14th President of the United States (1804-1869)
Pierceverb
cut or make a way through;
Pierceverb
move or affect (a person's emotions, bodily feelings, etc.) deeply or sharply;
Pierceverb
sound sharply or shrilly;
Pierceverb
penetrate or cut through with a sharp instrument
Pierceverb
make a hole into;
