Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An opening, tear, or rupture.
- noun A gap or rift, especially in a solid structure such as a dike or fortification.
- noun A violation or infraction, as of a contract, law, legal obligation, or promise.
- noun A breaking up or disruption of friendly relations; an estrangement.
- noun A leap of a whale from the water.
- noun The breaking of waves or surf.
- intransitive verb To make a hole or gap in; break through.
- intransitive verb To break or violate (an agreement, for example).
- intransitive verb To leap from the water.
- intransitive verb To develop a hole or opening. Used especially of protective embankments.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To make a breach or opening in.
- To spring from the water, as a whale.
- noun The act of breaking: now used only figuratively of the violation or neglect of a law, contract, or any other obligation, or of a custom.
- noun An opening made by breaking down a portion of a solid body, as a wall, a dike, or a river-bank; a rupture; a break; a gap.
- noun A break or interruption in utterance.
- noun A rupture of friendly relations; difference; quarrel.
- noun Infraction; violation; infringement: as, a breach of the peace, of a promise, or of a contract.
- noun Injury; would; bruise.
- noun The breaking of waves; the dashing of surf.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To make a breach or opening in.
- intransitive verb To break the water, as by leaping out; -- said of a whale.
- noun The act of breaking, in a figurative sense.
- noun Specifically: A breaking or infraction of a law, or of any obligation or tie; violation; non-fulfillment.
- noun A gap or opening made made by breaking or battering, as in a wall or fortification; the space between the parts of a solid body rent by violence; a break; a rupture.
- noun A breaking of waters, as over a vessel; the waters themselves; surge; surf.
- noun implies that the waves roll over the vessel without breaking.
- noun implies that everything on deck is swept away.
- noun A breaking up of amicable relations; rupture.
- noun A bruise; a wound.
- noun (Med.) A hernia; a rupture.
- noun A breaking out upon; an assault.
- noun a breaking, or a failure to keep, an expressed or implied promise; a betrayal of confidence or trust.
- noun disorderly conduct, disturbing the public peace.
- noun an act or default in violation of the privilege or either house of Parliament, of Congress, or of a State legislature, as, for instance, by false swearing before a committee.
- noun violation of one's plighted word, esp. of a promise to marry.
- noun violation of one's duty or faith in a matter entrusted to one.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The act of
breaking , in a figurative sense. - noun law A breaking or
infraction of alaw , or of anyobligation ortie ;violation ; non-fulfillment; as, abreach of contract ; a breach of promise. - noun A
gap oropening made by breaking or battering, as in awall ,fortification orlevee ; the space between the parts of a solid body rent byviolence ; abreak ; arupture ; afissure . - noun A breaking up of
amicable relations , afalling-out . - noun A breaking of
waters , as over avessel or acoastal defence ; the waters themselves;surge ;surf . - noun A breaking out upon; an assault.
- noun archaic A
bruise ; awound . - noun archaic A
hernia ; arupture . - verb transitive To make a breach in.
- verb transitive To
violate orbreak . - verb transitive, nautical, of the sea , to break into a ship or into a coastal defence
- verb intransitive (of a whale) to
leap clear out of the water
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an opening (especially a gap in a dike or fortification)
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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It suggests a much more active decision to end the treaty and is much closer to the term breach than the term withdraw.
The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time William Safire 2004
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It suggests a much more active decision to end the treaty and is much closer to the term breach than the term withdraw.
The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time William Safire 2004
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A heroic U.S. district judge, Jed Rakoff, refused to rubber-stamp the deal, which he called a breach of 'justice and morality' that 'suggests a rather cynical relationship between the parties.'
Janet Tavakoli: Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur Confronts MF Global and Wall Street Janet Tavakoli 2011
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A heroic U.S. district judge, Jed Rakoff, refused to rubber-stamp the deal, which he called a breach of 'justice and morality' that 'suggests a rather cynical relationship between the parties.'
Janet Tavakoli: Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur Confronts MF Global and Wall Street Janet Tavakoli 2011
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CAIRO — Egypt said Saturday it will withdraw its ambassador from Israel to protest the deaths of Egyptian security forces in what it called a breach of the 1979 peace treaty between the two countries, sharply escalating tensions after a cross-border ambush that killed eight Israelis.
Egypt To Withdraw Ambassador To Israel Over Ambush The Huffington Post News Editors 2011
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A heroic U.S. district judge, Jed Rakoff, refused to rubber-stamp the deal, which he called a breach of 'justice and morality' that 'suggests a rather cynical relationship between the parties.'
Janet Tavakoli: Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur Confronts MF Global and Wall Street Janet Tavakoli 2011
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CAIRO — Egypt said Saturday it will withdraw its ambassador from Israel to protest the deaths of Egyptian security forces in what it called a breach of the 1979 peace treaty between the two countries, sharply escalating tensions after a cross-border ambush that killed eight Israelis.
Egypt To Withdraw Ambassador To Israel Over Ambush The Huffington Post News Editors 2011
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Miles Miller, Alfred Gough & Tollin/Robbins Productions are suing Warner Brothers TV for what they call a breach of contract and fiduciary duty regarding how WB TV handled their financial responsibilities regarding Smallville.
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Instead of rubber-stamping the BofA/SEC settlement as everybody expected, Judge Rakoff refused to sign off on the deal, which he called a breach of "justice and morality" that "suggests a rather cynical relationship between the parties."
Arianna Huffington: Why It's Wrong When Wrongdoers Are Allowed to Admit No Wrongdoing 2009
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I just spoke to a House Democratic leadership aide this morning who said they have to deal with what they call the breach of decorum or they said that silence shows that they think it's OK.
zanshin commented on the word breach
"Once more into the breach, dear friends, once more, or fill the wall up with our English dead." ~ Henry V
December 15, 2006
bilby commented on the word breach
"While on his parole the offender received one minor breach for breaking his curfew, for less than an hour, and was subject to a 14-day custodial sentence as a result," corrections commissioner Scott McNairn said.
- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-05/darwin-shooting-are-electronic-monitoring-devices-reliable/11182750
June 5, 2019
bilby commented on the word breach
I suspect this - below - is a somewhat modern nominal use of breach. I don't like it much, but oh well. It appears to be shorthand for 'a penalty for having committed a breach' (of dot-dot-dot).
June 5, 2019