verb · neutral
break
/breɪk/BREAK
Band 5-6speakingtask1task2
to separate into pieces, stop working (for machines), or damage something so it no longer works
Examples
“She accidentally broke her phone screen.”
“The negotiations broke down after two days.”
“We must break the problem into smaller parts.”
Band 8 sentence
“When the appliance repeatedly broke down, the company offered a full refund rather than a repair.”
Collocations
- break down
- break the law
- break a habit
Word family
break verb (base)breaks verb (3rd singular)breaking verb (gerund/participle)broke verb (past)broken verb (past participle)breaker noun
Common mistakes
He breaked the glass.→He broke the glass.
My car broke yesterday.→My car broke down yesterday.
They destroyed the vase slightly.→They damaged the vase slightly.
Say it for a higher band
5destroy→6damage→7+break
Synonyms
damage
destroy
Easily confused
damage
“The storm damaged several houses in the village.”
destroy
“The explosion destroyed the warehouse.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In Irregular forms
Learn it with its set