broken

stop operating or functioning“The engine finally went”

make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret“The auction house would not disclose the price at which the van Gogh had sold”

be released or become known; of news“News of her death broke in the morning”

break down, literally or metaphorically“The wall collapsed”

render inoperable or ineffective“You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!”

put an end to a state or an activity“Quit teasing your little brother”

ruin completely“He busted my radio!”

act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises“offend all laws of humanity”

go to pieces“The lawn mower finally broke”

become separated into pieces or fragments“The figurine broke”

destroy the integrity of; usually by force; cause to separate into pieces or fragments“He broke the glass plate”

discontinue an association or relation; go different ways“The business partners broke over a tax question”

become fractured; break or crack on the surface only“The glass cracked when it was heated”

lessen in force or effect“soften a shock”

assign to a lower position; reduce in rank“She was demoted because she always speaks up”

move away or escape suddenly“The horses broke from the stable”

make a rupture in the ranks of the enemy or one's own by quitting or fleeing“The ranks broke”

reduce to bankruptcy“My daughter's fancy wedding is going to break me!”

happen“Report the news as it develops”

force out or release suddenly and often violently something pent up“break into tears”

make submissive, obedient, or useful“The horse was tough to break”

fail to agree with; be in violation of; as of rules or patterns“This sentence violates the rules of syntax”

be broken in“If the new teacher won't break, we'll add some stress”

do a break dance“Kids were break-dancing at the street corner”

exchange for smaller units of money“I had to break a $100 bill just to buy the candy”

destroy the completeness of a set of related items“The book dealer would not break the set”

break a piece from a whole“break a branch from a tree”

cease an action temporarily“We pause for station identification”

fracture a bone of“I broke my foot while playing hockey”

terminate or end“She interrupted her pregnancy”

enter someone's (virtual or real) property in an unauthorized manner, usually with the intent to steal or commit a violent act“Someone broke in while I was on vacation”

surpass in excellence“She bettered her own record”

interrupt a continued activity“She had broken with the traditional patterns”

cause to give up a habit“She finally broke herself of smoking cigarettes”

give up“break cigarette smoking”

become punctured or penetrated“The skin broke”

pierce or penetrate“The blade broke her skin”

find a flaw in“break an alibi”

find the solution or key to“break the code”

scatter or part“The clouds broke after the heavy downpour”

come into being“light broke over the horizon”

curl over and fall apart in surf or foam, of waves“The surf broke”

come to an end“The heat wave finally broke yesterday”

vary or interrupt a uniformity or continuity“The flat plain was broken by tall mesas”

come forth or begin from a state of latency“The first winter storm broke over New York”

happen or take place“Things have been breaking pretty well for us in the past few months”

cause the failure or ruin of“His peccadilloes finally broke his marriage”

invalidate by judicial action“The will was broken”

change directions suddenly

emerge from the surface of a body of water“The whales broke”

make the opening shot that scatters the balls

separate from a clinch, in boxing“The referee broke the boxers”

interrupt the flow of current in“break a circuit”

undergo breaking“The simple vowels broke in many Germanic languages”

change suddenly from one tone quality or register to another“Her voice broke to a whisper when she started to talk about her children”

crack; of the male voice in puberty“his voice is breaking — he should no longer sing in the choir”

fall sharply“stock prices broke”

diminish or discontinue abruptly“The patient's fever broke last night”

weaken or destroy in spirit or body“His resistance was broken”

not continuous in space, time, or sequence or varying abruptly“broken lines of defense”

subdued or brought low in condition or status“brought low”

thrown into a state of disarray or confusion“troops fleeing in broken ranks”

physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or split“a broken mirror”

tamed or trained to obey“a horse broken to the saddle”

topographically very uneven“broken terrain”

destroyed financially“the broken fortunes of the family”

out of working order (‘busted’ is an informal substitute for ‘broken’)“a broken washing machine”

lacking a part or parts“a broken set of encyclopedia”

(especially of promises or contracts) having been violated or disregarded“broken (or unkept) promises”

imperfectly spoken or written“broken English”

weakened and infirm“broken health resulting from alcoholism”

discontinuous“broken clouds”