11 English Phrasal Verbs With Break

11 phrasal verbs with ‘break’

1. BREAK AWAY

1. To become separate, move away or leave something
   A few members of the mainstream political party broke away and formed their own, more radical party.
2. To escape physically from someone or something
   The attacker grabbed her hair but she managed to break away.

2. BREAK DOWN

1. To stop working (usually referring to a machine or vehicle)
   My car broke down on the way home last night!

2. To become very upset or emotional
   She broke down when she started talking about her bad childhood.
3. To become weak or collapse (often due to stress)
   His work was so stressful that he had a breakdown and had to take 6 months off.
4. To cause something to fall or be destroyed
   I will break down this door if you don’t open up!
5. To explain something step by step
   I don’t think you understand so let me break it down for you.
6. To divide something into separate parts
   That’s come to a lot of money! Could we see a break down of the bill?
7. When a discussion or relationship stops being successful
   A lack of communication caused the relationship to break down.
8. To remove a difficulty that stops something from happening
   We hope this event will break down barriers between neighbours.
9. To reduce something to its component parts
   Water can be broken down into hydrogen and oxygen.

3. BREAK INTO

1. To start doing something
   I broke into a sweat when I started climbing the mountain.
2. To begin working successfully in a new business or area
   She only managed to break into the music industry later in life.
   The company broke into the European housing market last year.
3. To enter somewhere by force, illegally
   Some teenagers broke into the school and stole all the computers!

 4. BREAK IN ON

1. To interrupt or interject a conversation
   I’m sorry to break in on your chat, but could I borrow your pen?
   His loud voice broke in on their conversation. 

5. BREAK IN

1. To enter somewhere by force, illegally
   The thieves broke in through the side door that was left unlocked.
2. To make new shoes or clothes comfortable by wearing them
   Those shoes won’t be uncomfortable for long. You just need to break them in.
3. To tame a horse
   We got a trainer to break in our new horse. 

There are many ‘break’ phrasal verbs to describe entering somewhere by force! For example, ‘break into’, ‘break in’, ‘break open’ and ‘break through’ can all express this but with slightly different meanings. Usually ‘break into’ or ‘break in’ are used to describe entering somewhere illegally – e.g. ‘The thieves broke into my house at night and stole all my jewelry!’.

6. BREAK OFF

1. To separate something
   She broke off a piece of chocolate and put it in her mouth.
2. To end a relationship
   She broke off the relationship after she found out he was cheating.
3. To stop talking or doing something (usually abruptly)
   She broke off in mid sentence after realising she’d said the wrong thing. 

7. BREAK OPEN

1. To open something by force
   The police broke open the door when no one opened it.
   We had to break open the petty cash box because the key didn’t work.

8. BREAK OUT

1. To escape from a place or situation
   They managed to break out of prison by digging a tunnel.
2. When something suddenly begins (often dangerous or unpleasant)
   War broke out after the opposition leader was shot.
3. When something suddenly appears on your skin
   She broke out in a rash after she was stung by a bee.

 9. BREAK THROUGH

1. To force yourself through something that is holding you back
   They broke through the barriers to get into the music festival.
2. To go higher than a certain or expected level
   Profit this year broke through our annual sales targets.
3. To appear from behind something
   The sun broke through the clouds. 

‘Break it up’ is often used informally to ask two or more people to stop fighting. For example, ‘Break it up, you two!’ is a common phrase you might hear in England if a parent’s kids are arguing over a toy.

10. BREAK UP

1. To divide something into smaller pieces
   The land was broken up into smaller plots.
2. Unable to hear someone when you’re talking on the phone
   Could you repeat that, please? It’s a bad line and you’re breaking up.
3. When a business or personal relationship ends
   It was sad when Anna and Tom broke up.
4. When a school term ends, school finishes and the holidays start
   We break up for Christmas this Friday. I can’t wait!
5. To stop a fight
   The police broke up a fight outside our local pub.

Many phrasal verbs with ‘break’ are to do with leaving or ending something. For example, ‘break away’, ‘break up’ and ‘break with’ can all mean: to move away or leave something or someone. In everyday spoken English, ‘break up’ is most commonly used to describe the ending of a romantic relationship – e.g. ‘Hannah broke up with me last night by text message!’.

11. BREAK WITH

1. To stop doing something that is normal or traditional
   She broke with convention and trained as a mechanic.
2. To leave a group or relationship
   He broke with his local church group after a disagreement with the priest.

Exercises: phrasal verbs with ‘break’

Alex Jude —
ESL Specialist & CEO at Online Teachers UK.

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