to break or act contrary to (a law, promise, etc.).
–verb (used without object)
10.
(of a whale) to leap partly or completely out of the water, head first, and land on the back or belly with a resounding splash.
[Origin: bef. 1000; ME breche, OE bræc breaking; see break]
—Related forms
breacher, noun
—Synonyms 1. fracture. 2.Breach,infraction,violation,transgression all denote in some way the breaking of a rule or law or the upsetting of a normal and desired state. Breach is used infrequently in reference to laws or rules, more often in connection with desirable conditions or states of affairs: a breach of the peace, of good manners, of courtesy. Infraction most often refers to clearly formulated rules or laws: an infraction of the criminal code, of university regulations, of a labor contract. Violation, a stronger term than either of the preceding two, often suggests intentional, even forceful or aggressive, refusal to obey the law or to respect the rights of others: repeated violations of parking regulations; a human rights violation. Transgression, with its root sense of “a stepping across (of a boundary of some sort),” applies to any behavior that exceeds the limits imposed by a law, especially a moral law, a commandment, or an order; it often implies sinful behavior: a serious transgression of social customs, of God's commandments. 3. crack, rent, opening. 4. alienation, split, rift, schism, separation; dissension.
A gap or rift, especially in or as if in a solid structure such as a dike or fortification.
A violation or infraction, as of a law, a legal obligation, or a promise.
A breaking up or disruption of friendly relations; an estrangement.
A leap of a whale from the water.
The breaking of waves or surf.
v.
breached, breach·ing, breach·es
v.
tr.
To make a hole or gap in; break through.
To break or violate (an agreement, for example).
v.
intr.
To leap from the water: waiting for the whale to breach.
[Middle English breche, from Old English brēc; see bhreg- in Indo-European roots.]
Synonyms: These nouns denote an act or instance of breaking a law or regulation or failing to fulfill a duty, obligation, or promise. Breach and infraction are the least specific: Revealing the secret would be a breach of trust. Infractions of the rules will not be tolerated.
A violation is committed willfully and with complete lack of regard for legal, moral, or ethical considerations: In violation of her contract, she failed to appear. Transgression most often applies to divine or moral law: "The children shall not be punished for the father's transgression" (Daniel Defoe).
Trespass implies willful intrusion on another's rights, possessions, or person: "In the limited and confined sense [trespass] signifies no more than an entry on another man's ground without a lawful authority" (William Blackstone).
Infringement is most frequently used to denote encroachment on another's rights: "Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom" (William Pitt the Younger).
O.E. bræc "a breaking," from brecan (see break), infl. by O.Fr. breche, from Frankish; both from P.Gmc. *brecho, *bræko "broken," from PIE base *bhreg-. Fig. sense of "a breaking of rules, etc." was in O.E. The verb is first recorded 1573.
a failure to perform some promised act or obligation
2.
an opening (especially a gap in a dike or fortification)
3.
a personal or social separation (as between opposing factions); "they hoped to avoid a break in relations" [syn: rupture]
verb
1.
act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises; "offend all laws of humanity"; "violate the basic laws or human civilization"; "break a law"; "break a promise" [syn: transgress] [ant: keep]
Brack\ (br[a^]k), n. [Cf.D. braak, Dan. br[ae]k, a breaking, Sw. & Icel. brak a crackling, creaking. Cf. Breach.] An opening caused by the parting of any solid body; a crack or breach; a flaw. Stain or brack in her sweet reputation. --J. Fletcher.
Brake\ (br[=a]k), n. [OE. brake; cf. LG. brake an instrument for breaking flax, G. breche, fr. the root of E. break. See Break, v. t., and cf. Breach.]1. An instrument or machine to break or bruise the woody part of flax or hemp so that it may be separated from the fiber. 2. An extended handle by means of which a number of men can unite in working a pump, as in a fire engine. 3. A baker's kneading though. --Johnson. 4. A sharp bit or snaffle. Pampered jades . . . which need nor break nor bit. --Gascoigne. 5. A frame for confining a refractory horse while the smith is shoeing him; also, an inclosure to restrain cattle, horses, etc. A horse . . . which Philip had bought . . . and because of his fierceness kept him within a brake of iron bars. --J. Brende. 6. That part of a carriage, as of a movable battery, or engine, which enables it to turn. 7. (Mil.) An ancient engine of war analogous to the crossbow and ballista. 8. (Agric.) A large, heavy harrow for breaking clods after plowing; a drag. 9. A piece of mechanism for retarding or stopping motion by friction, as of a carriage or railway car, by the pressure of rubbers against the wheels, or of clogs or ratchets against the track or roadway, or of a pivoted lever against a wheel or drum in a machine. 10. (Engin.) An apparatus for testing the power of a steam engine, or other motor, by weighing the amount of friction that the motor will overcome; a friction brake. 11. A cart or carriage without a body, used in breaking in horses. 12. An ancient instrument of torture. --Holinshed. Air brake. See Air brake, in the Vocabulary. Brake beam or Brake bar, the beam that connects the brake blocks of opposite wheels. Brake block. (a) The part of a brake holding the brake shoe. (b) A brake shoe. Brake shoe or Brake rubber, the part of a brake against which the wheel rubs. Brake wheel, a wheel on the platform or top of a car by which brakes are operated. Continuous brake . See under Continuous.
Breach\, n. [OE. breke, breche, AS. brice, gebrice, gebrece (in comp.), fr. brecan to break; akin to Dan. br[ae]k, MHG. breche, gap, breach. See Break, and cf. Brake (the instrument), Brack a break] . 1. The act of breaking, in a figurative sense. 2. Specifically: A breaking or infraction of a law, or of any obligation or tie; violation; non-fulfillment; as, a breach of contract; a breach of promise. 3. 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. Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; Or close the wall up with our English dead. --Shak. 4. A breaking of waters, as over a vessel; the waters themselves; surge; surf. The Lord hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters. --2 Sam. v. 20? A clear breach implies that the waves roll over the vessel without breaking. A clean breach implies that everything on deck is swept away. --Ham. Nav. Encyc. 5. A breaking up of amicable relations; rupture. There's fallen between him and my lord An unkind breach. --Shak. 6. A bruise; a wound. Breach for breach, eye for eye. --Lev. xxiv. 20? 7. (Med.) A hernia; a rupture. 8. A breaking out upon; an assault. The Lord had made a breach upon Uzza. --1. Chron. xiii. 11? Breach of falth, a breaking, or a failure to keep, an expressed or implied promise; a betrayal of confidence or trust. Breach of peace, disorderly conduct, disturbing the public peace. Breach of privilege, 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. --Mozley. Abbott. Breach of promise, violation of one's plighted word, esp. of a promise to marry. Breach of trust, violation of one's duty or faith in a matter entrusted to one. Syn: Rent; cleft; chasm; rift; aperture; gap; break; disruption; fracture; rupture; infraction; infringement; violation; quarrel; dispute; contention; difference; misunderstanding.
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