break – English verb conjugation

English verb forms of break

Nominal Forms

Infinitive: to break sth in
Participle: broken sth in
Gerund: breaking sth in

Cognates

-

Indicative

Present

Ibreak sth in
youbreak sth in
he;she;itbreaks sth in
webreak sth in
youbreak sth in
theybreak sth in

Perfect

Ihave broken sth in; broke sth in
youhave broken sth in; broke sth in
he;she;ithas broken sth in; broke sth in
wehave broken sth in; broke sth in
youhave broken sth in; broke sth in
theyhave broken sth in; broke sth in

Past

Ibroke sth in
youbroke sth in
he;she;itbroke sth in
webroke sth in
youbroke sth in
theybroke sth in

Pluperfect

Ihad broken sth in; broke sth in
youhad broken sth in; broke sth in
he;she;ithad broken sth in; broke sth in
wehad broken sth in; broke sth in
youhad broken sth in; broke sth in
theyhad broken sth in; broke sth in

Future

Iwill break sth in
youwill break sth in
he;she;itwill break sth in
wewill break sth in
youwill break sth in
theywill break sth in

Future Perfect

Iwill have broken sth in; broke sth in
youwill have broken sth in; broke sth in
he;she;itwill have broken sth in; broke sth in
wewill have broken sth in; broke sth in
youwill have broken sth in; broke sth in
theywill have broken sth in; broke sth in

Subjunctive

Present

Ibreak sth in
youbreak sth in
he;she;itbreak sth in
webreak sth in
youbreak sth in
theybreak sth in

Perfect

Ihave broken sth in; broke sth in
youhave broken sth in; broke sth in
he;she;ithave broken sth in; broke sth in
wehave broken sth in; broke sth in
youhave broken sth in; broke sth in
theyhave broken sth in; broke sth in

Imperfect

Ibroke sth in
youbroke sth in
he;she;itbroke sth in
webroke sth in
youbroke sth in
theybroke sth in

Pluperfect

Ihad broken sth in; broke sth in
youhad broken sth in; broke sth in
he;she;ithad broken sth in; broke sth in
wehad broken sth in; broke sth in
youhad broken sth in; broke sth in
theyhad broken sth in; broke sth in

Conditional

Present

Iwould break sth in
youwould break sth in
he;she;itwould break sth in
wewould break sth in
youwould break sth in
theywould break sth in

Perfect

Iwould have broken sth in; broke sth in
youwould have broken sth in; broke sth in
he;she;itwould have broken sth in; broke sth in
wewould have broken sth in; broke sth in
youwould have broken sth in; broke sth in
theywould have broken sth in; broke sth in

Imperative

youbreak sth in
weLet's break sth in
youbreak sth in

Progressive (Continuous) Forms

Indicative

Present

Iam breaking sth in
youare breaking sth in
he;she;itis breaking sth in
weare breaking sth in
youare breaking sth in
theyare breaking sth in

Perfect

Ihave been breaking sth in
youhave been breaking sth in
he;she;ithas been breaking sth in
wehave been breaking sth in
youhave been breaking sth in
theyhave been breaking sth in

Past

Iwas breaking sth in
youwere breaking sth in
he;she;itwas breaking sth in
wewere breaking sth in
youwere breaking sth in
theywere breaking sth in

Pluperfect

Ihad been breaking sth in
youhad been breaking sth in
he;she;ithad been breaking sth in
wehad been breaking sth in
youhad been breaking sth in
theyhad been breaking sth in

Future

Iwill be breaking sth in
youwill be breaking sth in
he;she;itwill be breaking sth in
wewill be breaking sth in
youwill be breaking sth in
theywill be breaking sth in

Future Perfect

Iwill have been breaking sth in
youwill have been breaking sth in
he;she;itwill have been breaking sth in
wewill have been breaking sth in
youwill have been breaking sth in
theywill have been breaking sth in

Conditional

Present

Iwould be breaking sth in
youwould be breaking sth in
he;she;itwould be breaking sth in
wewould be breaking sth in
youwould be breaking sth in
theywould be breaking sth in

Perfect

Iwould have been breaking sth in
youwould have been breaking sth in
he;she;itwould have been breaking sth in
wewould have been breaking sth in
youwould have been breaking sth in
theywould have been breaking sth in

Other

Verbs conjugated like 'break'

bespeak, break, speak, steal,

Verbs similar to 'break'

beak, bread, bream, creak, freak, wreak, aread, arear, bead, beal,

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

destroy
crash, batter, dash, crush, demolish, fracture, shatter, shiver
violate
contravene, disobey, infract, infringe, transgress

Antonyms

to restore to a sound or good state
aggravate, damage, hurt, repair
to continue to exist
fail, persist, yield
destroy
construct, build, create, originate

Additional Information

Etymology

1. O.E. brecan (class IV strong verb; past tense bræc, pp. brocen), from P.Gmc. *brekan (cf. O.Fris. breka, Du. breken, O.H.G. brehhan, Ger. brechen, Goth. brikan), from PIE base *bhreg- "to break" (see fraction). Most modern senses were in O.E. Meaning "to disclose" is from 1450. Noun sense of "short interval between spells of work (originally between lessons at school) is from 1861. Break the ice is 1602, in ref. to the "coldness" of encounters of strangers. Break wind first attested 1552. Breaker "heavy ocean wave" is from 1684. Breakneck (of speeds, etc.) is from 1562. Breakthrough is 1918, originally in ref. to WWI military events. Ironic theatrical good luck formula break a leg has parallels in Ger. Hals und Bein brechen "break your neck and leg," and It. in bocca al lupo.
2. Etymology tree
3. Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg-
4. Proto-Indo-European *-eti
5. Proto-Indo-European *bʰrégeti
6. Proto-Germanic *brekaną
7. Proto-West Germanic *brekan
8. Old English brecan
9. Middle English breken
10. English break
11. From Middle English breken, from Old English brecan (“to break”), from Proto-West Germanic *brekan, from Proto-Germanic *brekaną (“to break”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- (“to break”). Doublet of bray.
12. Cognates
13. Cognates of Germanic origin include Scots brek (“to break”), West Frisian brekke (“to break”), Dutch breken (“to break”), Low German breken (“to break”), German brechen (“to break”), French broyer (“to crush, grind”), Gothic 𐌱𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽 (brikan, “to break, destroy”), Norwegian brek (“desire, yearning”).
14. Also cognate with Albanian brishtë (“fragile”), Latin frangō (“break, break up, shatter”, verb), whence English fracture and other terms – fragile, frail, fraction, and fragment.
15. The modern pronunciation shows an irregular change of Early Modern English /ɛː/ to /eɪ/ in the standard language; contrast this with the development of other words such as speak and wreak. See: Middle English 'breken', Old English 'brecan', Proto-Germanic '*brekaną', Dutch 'breken', Low Saxon 'breken', German, old spelling 'brechen', French 'broyer', Latin 'frangō', English 'fracture'.

Verbs referencing "break"

Tok Pisin bruk, Low Saxon breken, German, Pennsylvania breche, Finnish with old forms breikata, Danish brække, Luxembourgish briechen, Tok Pisin brukim.

Sample Sentences

  • [...] our ears, the vessel throbs like a strong giant that has just received the breath of life; the two great wheels turn fiercely round for the first time; and the noble ship, with wind and tide astern, breaks proudly through the lashed and roaming water. (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • The subject appeared to interest the gentleman deeply; for while Mr. Shelby was thoughtfully peeling an orange, Haley broke out afresh, with becoming diffidence, but as if actually driven by the force of truth to say a few words more. (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • The heaviest load on his mind, after his conversation with the trader, lay in the foreseen necessity of breaking to his wife the arrangement contemplated,—meeting the importunities and opposition which he knew he should have reason to encounter. (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • “ Here, you Mose, Pete, ” he said, breaking off liberal bits, and throwing it at them; “ you want some, don't you ? Come, Aunt Chloe, bake them some cakes. ” (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] ourselves and for the shadows who appear to us in those visions of the night, so she, having no words, uses her finger alphabet in her sleep. And it has been ascertained that when her slumber is broken, and is much disturbed by dreams, she expresses her thoughts in an irregular and confused manner on her fingers: just as we should murmur and mutter them indistinctly, in the like circumstances. (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] I can bar it as well as any on ’ em, ” he added, while something like a sob and a sigh shook his broad, rough chest convulsively. “ Mas’r always found me on the spot—he always will. I never have broke trust, nor used my pass no ways contrary to my word, and I never will. It's better for me alone to go, than to break up the place and sell all. Mas’r an't to blame, Chloe, and he'll take care [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] “ Mas’r always found me on the spot—he always will. I never have broke trust, nor used my pass no ways contrary to my word, and I never will. It's better for me alone to go, than to break up the place and sell all. Mas’r an't to blame, Chloe, and he'll take care of you and the poor — ” (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] Haley's horse _should_ begin to act contrary, and cut up, you and I jist lets go of our’n to help him, and _we'll help him_—oh yes ! ” And Sam and Andy laid their heads back on their shoulders, and broke into a low, immoderate laugh, snapping their fingers and flourishing their heels with exquisite delight. (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] two hundred prisoners. A spot was shown me in the sleeping ward, where a watchman was murdered some years since in the dead of night, in a desperate attempt to escape, made by a prisoner who had broken from his cell. A woman, too, was pointed out to me, who, for the murder of her husband, had been a close prisoner for sixteen years. (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] or oftener. For the young gentlemen, there is the counting-house, the store, the bar-room: the latter, as you may see through these windows, pretty full. Hark! to the clinking sound of hammers breaking lumps of ice, and to the cool gurgling of the pounded bits, as, in the process of mixing, they are poured from glass to glass ! No amusements? What are these suckers of cigars and swallowers of [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • You know, Hemingway wrote, " The world breaks everyone, (The Crow)
  • about the SUV you broke into. Goddamn it, I don't care about that. (Locked)
  • ♪ Don't fret in fear or worry forever ♪ ♪ Don't get shaken Don't be broken ♪ (Magudam)
  • [cell door slams] I know that look. Your heart's been broken. (Fackham Hall)
  • It says that you broke into her flat during the theft, (Nunakuzhi)