Definitions for broken

• Definition
• Anagrams (93)

broken bro·ken

Spelling: [broh-kuh n]

IPA: /ˈbroʊ kən/

Broken is a 6 letter English word. It's valid Scrabble word worth 12 points. It's valid Words with friends word worth 14 points.

You can make 93 anagrams from letters in broken (beknor).

Definitions for broken

noun

1. an act or instance of breaking; disruption or separation of parts; fracture; rupture:
2. an opening made by breaking; gap:
3. a rush away from a place; an attempt to escape:
4. a sudden dash or rush, as toward something:
5. a suspension of or sudden rupture in friendly relations.
6. an interruption of continuity; departure from or rupture with:
7. an abrupt or marked change, as in sound or direction, or a brief pause:
8. Informal. an opportunity or stroke of fortune, especially a lucky one. a chance to improve one's lot, especially one unlooked for or undeserved.
9. the breaks, Informal. the way things happen; fate:
10. a brief rest, as from work:
11. Radio, Television. a brief, scheduled interruption of a program or broadcasting period for the announcement of advertising or station identification.
12. Prosody. a pause or caesura.
13. Jazz. a solo passage, usually of from 2 to 12 bars, during which the rest of the instruments are silent.
14. Music. the point in the scale where the quality of voice of one register changes to that of another, as from chest to head.
15. break dancing.
16. a sharp and considerable drop in the prices of stock issues.
17. Electricity. an opening or discontinuity in a circuit.
18. Printing. one or more blank lines between two paragraphs. breaks, suspension points.
19. the place, after a letter, where a word is or may be divided at the end of a line.
20. a collapse of health, strength, or spirit; breakdown.
21. Informal. an indiscreet or awkward remark or action; social blunder; faux pas.
22. Billiards, Pool. a series of successful strokes; run.
23. Pool. the opening play, in which the cue ball is shot to scatter the balls.
24. Sports. a change in direction of a pitched or bowled ball.
25. Horse Racing, Track. the start of a race.
26. (in harness racing) an act or instance of a horse's changing from a trot or pace into a gallop or other step.
27. Bowling. a failure to knock down all ten pins in a single frame.
28. Boxing. an act or instance of stepping back or separating from a clinch:
29. any of several stages in the grinding of grain in which the bran is separated from the kernel.
30. Botany. a sport.
31. Journalism. the point at the bottom of a column where a printed story is carried over to another column or page.
32. Nautical. the place at which a superstructure, deckhouse, or the like, rises from the main deck of a vessel.
33. breaks, Physical Geography. an area dissected by small ravines and gullies.
34. Mining. a fault or offset, as in a vein or bed of ore.

verb

1. past participle of break.

Idioms

1. break bulk, Nautical. to remove a cargo wholly or in part.
2. break camp, to pack up tents and equipment and resume a journey or march:
3. break even, to finish a business transaction, period of gambling, series of games, etc., with no loss or gain:
4. break ground, to begin construction, especially of a building or group of buildings: Nautical. to free an anchor from the bottom; break out.
5. break it down, Australian Slang. stop it; calm down. (used as an exclamation of disbelief) that can't be true!
6. break someone's heart, to cause someone great disappointment or sorrow, as to disappoint in love:
7. break service, Tennis. to win a game served by one's opponent.
8. break sheer, Nautical. (of an anchored vessel) to drift into such a position as to risk fouling the anchor or anchor cable. Compare sheer2 (def 6).
9. break step. step (def 38).
10. break wind, to expel gas from the stomach and bowels through the anus.
11. give me a break, Informal. (used to express annoyance, disbelief, etc.):

adjective

1. reduced to fragments; fragmented.
2. ruptured; torn; fractured.
3. not functioning properly; out of working order.
4. Meteorology. (of sky cover) being more than half, but not totally, covered by clouds. Compare scattered (def 4).
5. changing direction abruptly:
6. fragmentary or incomplete:
7. infringed or violated:
8. interrupted, disrupted, or disconnected:
9. weakened in strength, spirit, etc.:
10. tamed, trained, or reduced to submission:
11. imperfectly spoken, as language:
12. spoken in a halting or fragmentary manner, as under emotional strain:
13. (of a relationship) split apart; not intact: (of a family) disunited or divided by the prolonged or permanent absence of a parent, usually due to divorce or desertion:
14. not smooth; rough or irregular:
15. ruined; bankrupt:
16. Papermaking, Printing. a quantity of paper of less than 500 or 1000 sheets.

Verb phrases

1. break away, to leave or escape, especially suddenly or hurriedly. to sever connections or allegiance, as to tradition or a political group. to start prematurely:
2. break back, Tennis. to win a game served by an opponent immediately after the opponent has done so against one's own serve.
3. break down, to become ineffective. to lose control; weaken: to have a physical or mental collapse. to cease to function: to itemize: Chemistry. to separate (a compound) into its constituent molecules. Electricity. (of an insulator) to fail, as when subjected to excessively high voltage, permitting a current to pass. to decompose. to analyze. to classify. to separate into constituent parts:
4. break in, to enter by force or craft: to train or instruct; initiate: to begin to wear or use in order to make comfortable: to interrupt: to run (new machinery) initially under reduced load and speed, until any stiffness of motion has departed and all parts are ready to operate under normal service conditions; run in; wear in.
5. break in on/upon, to enter with force upon or accidentally interrupt; intrude upon:
6. break into, to interpose; interrupt: to begin some activity. to be admitted into; enter, as a business or profession: to enter by force:
7. break off, to sever by breaking. to stop suddenly; discontinue:
8. break out, to begin abruptly; arise: Pathology. (of certain diseases) to appear in eruptions. (of a person) to manifest a skin eruption. to prepare for use: to take out of (storage, concealment, etc.) for consumption: Nautical. to dislodge (the anchor) from the bottom. to escape; flee: to separate into categories or list specific items:
9. break up, to separate; scatter. to put an end to; discontinue. to divide or become divided into pieces. to dissolve. to disrupt; upset: (of a personal relationship) to end: to end a personal relationship: to be or cause to be overcome with laughter:
10. break with, to sever relations with; separate from: to depart from; repudiate:

verb (used with object)

1. to smash, split, or divide into parts violently; reduce to pieces or fragments:
2. to infringe, ignore, or act contrary to (a law, rule, promise, etc.):
3. to dissolve or annul (often followed by off):
4. to fracture a bone of (some part of the body):
5. to lacerate; wound:
6. to destroy or interrupt the regularity, uniformity, continuity, or arrangement of; interrupt:
7. to put an end to; overcome; stop:
8. to discover the system, key, method, etc., for decoding or deciphering (a cryptogram), especially by the methods of cryptanalysis.
9. to remove a part from (a set or collection):
10. to exchange for or divide into smaller units or components:
11. to make a way through; penetrate:
12. Law. to open or force one's way into (a dwelling, store, etc.). to contest (a will) successfully by judicial action.
13. to make one's way out of, especially by force:
14. to better (a given score or record):
15. to disclose or divulge personally in speech or writing:
16. to solve:
17. to rupture (a blood vessel):
18. to disable or destroy by or as if by shattering or crushing:
19. to cause (a blister, boil, or the like) to burst, as by puncturing:
20. to ruin financially; make bankrupt:
21. to overcome or wear down the spirit, strength, or resistance of; to cause to yield, especially under pressure, torture, or the like:
22. to dismiss or reduce in rank.
23. to impair or weaken the power, effect, or intensity of:
24. to train to obedience; tame:
25. to train away from a habit or practice (usually followed by of).
26. Electricity. to render (a circuit) incomplete; stop the flow of (a current).
27. Journalism. to release (a story) for publication or airing on radio or television: to continue (a story or article) on another page, especially when the page is not the following one.
28. Pool. to cause (racked billiard balls) to scatter by striking with the cue ball.
29. Sports. (of a pitcher, bowler, etc.) to hurl (a ball) in such a way as to cause it to change direction after leaving the hand: (in tennis and other racket games) to score frequently or win against (an opponent's serve).
30. Nautical. to unfurl (a flag) suddenly by an easily released knot.
31. to prove the falsity or show the lack of logic of:
32. to begin or initiate (a plan or campaign), especially with much publicity:
33. to open the breech or action of (a shotgun, rifle, or revolver), as by snapping open the hinge between the barrel and the butt.

verb (used without object)

1. to shatter, burst, or become broken; separate into parts or fragments, especially suddenly and violently:
2. to become suddenly discontinuous or interrupted; stop abruptly:
3. to become detached, separated, or disassociated (usually followed by away, off, or from):
4. to become inoperative or to malfunction, as through wear or damage:
5. to begin suddenly or violently or change abruptly into something else:
6. to begin uttering a sound or series of sounds or to be uttered suddenly:
7. to express or start to express an emotion or mood:
8. to free oneself or escape suddenly, as from restraint or dependency (often followed by away):
9. to run or dash toward something suddenly (usually followed by for):
10. to force a way (usually followed by in, into, or through):
11. to burst or rupture:
12. to interrupt or halt an activity (usually followed by in, into, forth, or from):
13. to appear or arrive suddenly (usually followed by in, into, or out):
14. to dawn:
15. to begin violently and suddenly:
16. (of a storm, foul weather, etc.) to cease:
17. to part the surface of water, as a jumping fish or surfacing submarine.
18. to give way or fail, as health, strength, or spirit; collapse:
19. to yield or submit to pressure, torture, or the like:
20. (of the heart) to be overwhelmed with sorrow:
21. (of the voice or a musical instrument) to change harshly from one register or pitch to another:
22. (of the voice) to cease, waver, or change tone abruptly, especially from emotional strain:
23. (of value or prices) to drop sharply and considerably.
24. to disperse or collapse by colliding with something:
25. to break dance.
26. (of a horse in a harness race) to fail to keep to a trot or pace, as by starting to gallop.
27. Botany. to mutate; sport.
28. Linguistics. to undergo breaking.
29. Billiards, Pool. to make a break; take the first turn in a game.
30. Sports. (of a pitched or bowled ball) to change direction:
31. Horse Racing, Track. to leave the starting point:
32. Boxing. to step back or separate from a clinch:
33. to take place; occur.
34. Journalism. to become known, published, or aired:
35. Horticulture. to produce flowers or leaves.

Origin of broken

before 900; Middle English breken, Old English brecan; cognate with Dutch breken, German brechen, Gothic brikan; akin to Latin frangere; see fragile

Examples for broken

The narrative was broken off short by a cry of jubilee in the court.

How many husbands, wives, sons, and daughters have we lost to a broken system?

Instead of lights and gifts, this one is filled with broken promises and guilt.

His surprise marriage to theater director Sophie Hunter may have broken hearts, but the squeals of delight were even louder.

Found the barometer had got broken, which I was very sorry for.

And besides, as a nation, we hold this truth to be self-evident:  resolutions are made to be broken.

How lucky I did not write to my father that I had broken matters off.

To the east, plains for at least thirty miles, when broken ranges were visible.

This time he did not desist until he had broken through the panel.

A grand jury investigated but found Foster had broken no law.