phrasal verb / collocation · neutral
break the law
/breɪk ðə lɔː/break·the·LAW
to act in a way that is against the law
Examples
“If you drive without a licence, you are breaking the law.”
“Companies that break the law can face heavy fines.”
“Many argue that strict penalties are needed to discourage people from breaking the law.”
Band 8 sentence
“Policymakers must balance deterrence and rehabilitation when designing penalties for those who break the law.”
Collocations
- break the law by doing something
- be accused of breaking the law
- punish those who break the law
Word family
Common mistakes
break law→break the law
do law-breaking→break the law
Say it for a higher band
5do something illegal→6violate the law→7+break the law
Synonyms
violate the law
commit an offence
Easily confused
violate the law
“The company was found to violate the law and fined heavily.”
commit a crime
“He committed a crime and received a prison sentence.”
Related words
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