Breaking Away

1. to smash, split, or divide into parts violently; reduce to pieces or fragments: He broke a vase. 2. to infringe, ignore, or act contrary to (a law, rule, promise, etc.): She broke her promise. 3. to dissolve or annul (often followed by off): to break off friendly relations with another country. 4. to fracture a bone of (some part of the body): He broke his leg. 5. to lacerate; wound: to break the skin. 6. to destroy or interrupt the regularity, uniformity, continuity, or arrangement of; interrupt: The bleating of a foghorn broke the silence. The troops broke formation. 7. to put an end to; overcome; stop: His touchdown run broke the tie. She found it hard to break the cigarette habit. 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): She had to break the set to sell me the two red ones I wanted. 10. to exchange for or divide into smaller units or components: She broke a dollar bill into change. The prism broke the light into all the colors of the rainbow. 11. to make a way through; penetrate: The stone broke the surface of the water. 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: to break jail. 14. to better (a given score or record): He never broke 200 in bowling or 80 in golf. 15. to disclose or divulge personally in speech or writing: He broke the good news to her at dinner. 16. to solve: The police needed only a week to break that case. 17. to rupture (a blood vessel): She almost broke a blood vessel from laughing so hard. 18. to disable or destroy by or as if by shattering or crushing: to break a watch. 19. to cause (a blister, boil, or the like) to burst, as by puncturing: She broke the blister with a needle. 20. to ruin financially; make bankrupt: They threatened to break him if he didn't stop discounting their products. 21. to overcome or wear down the spirit, strength, or resistance of; to cause to yield, especially under pressure, torture, or the like: They broke him by the threat of blackmail. 22. to dismiss or reduce in rank. 23. to impair or weaken the power, effect, or intensity of: His arm broke the blow. 24. to train to obedience; tame: to break a horse. 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: They will break the story tomorrow. 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: He broke a curve over the plate for a strike. (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: The FBI broke his alibi by proving he knew how to shoot a pistol. 32. to begin or initiate (a plan or campaign), especially with much publicity: They were going to break the sales campaign with a parade in April. 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.