| / English Dictionary |
BREAK IN
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (verb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Make submissive, obedient, or useful
Example:
I broke in the new intern
Synonyms:
break; break in
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "break in" is one way to...):
domesticate; domesticise; domesticize; reclaim; tame (overcome the wildness of; make docile and tractable)
Cause:
break (be broken in)
Verb group:
break (be broken in)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Sense 2
Meaning:
Break so as to fall inward
Example:
He broke in the door
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "break in" is one way to...):
break (destroy the integrity of; usually by force; cause to separate into pieces or fragments)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "break in"):
stave in (break in the staves (of))
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Sense 3
Meaning:
Start in a certain activity, enterprise, or role
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "break in" is one way to...):
begin; commence; get; get down; set about; set out; start; start out (take the first step or steps in carrying out an action)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s
Sense 4
Meaning:
Break into a conversation
Example:
her husband always chimes in, even when he is not involved in the conversation
Synonyms:
barge in; break in; butt in; chime in; chisel in; cut in; put in
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Hypernyms (to "break in" is one way to...):
break up; cut off; disrupt; interrupt (make a break in)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "break in"):
disrupt; interrupt (interfere in someone else's activity)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s
Sense 5
Meaning:
Intrude on uninvited
Example:
The nosy couple broke in on our conversation
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Hypernyms (to "break in" is one way to...):
intrude; irrupt (enter uninvited)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s PP
Sense 6
Meaning:
Enter someone's (virtual or real) property in an unauthorized manner, usually with the intent to steal or commit a violent act
Example:
who broke into my account last night?
Synonyms:
break; break in
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Hypernyms (to "break in" is one way to...):
intrude; trespass (enter unlawfully on someone's property)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "break in"):
crack (gain unauthorized access computers with malicious intentions)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Derivation:
break-in (trespassing for an unlawful purpose; illegal entrance into premises with criminal intent)
Context examples:
A break in the mucosal surface of the oral cavity.
(Mouth Sore, NCI Thesaurus)
A break in the skin or other body tissues caused by injury or surgical incision (cut).
(Injury, NCI Dictionary)
If you’d like to take a break in January, you will be able to do so.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
When waves break in the ocean, they inject tiny particles into the air, called aerosols, that carry organic molecules more than 5,000 years old.
(Ancient molecules from the sea likely burst into the air from ocean waves, National Science Foundation)
I tried to break in on the man’s morbid thoughts by calling him away, but he smiled sadly at me and refused to obey.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
"We shall break in if need be."
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
Once, through a break in the trees, we saw a clear shoulder of green hill some distance away, and across this a large dun-colored animal was traveling at a considerable pace.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
We had walked several times up and down the lawn, neither Miss Stoner nor myself liking to break in upon his thoughts before he roused himself from his reverie.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Why should a thief try to break in at a bedroom window, where there could be no hope of any plunder, and why should he come with a long knife in his hand?
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
A finding of damage to the ankle joint characterized by a break in the continuity of the ankle bone.
(Ankle Fracture, NCI Thesaurus/CTCAE)
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