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Breaking

Definition: Breaking

Breaking

Adjective

1. (of waves) curling over and crashing into surf or spray: "the breaking waves".

Noun

1. The act of breaking something; "the breakage was unavoidable".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "breaking" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1050. (references)

 

Specialty Definition: Breaking

DomainDefinition

Industry

The next stage in fibre-production in --. The straw is passed between fluted rollers in a breaking machine, so that the woody core is broken. . . without damaging the fibres. . Source: European Union. (references)
 The deformation of the plant structure by flattening the stem, loosening the bond between the fibre bundles and the wood, and breaking the woody part into short pieces, to facilitate their removal from the fibre by scutching. Breaking by means of rollers is often referred to as rolling. Source: European Union. (references)
 This process is necessary to separate textile fibres from woody ones. Source: European Union. (references)
 An aggregation in flocs of fibres etc. Source: European Union. (references)

Mining

Size reduction of large particles. Also called cracking. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Specialty Definition: Horse breaking

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The term horse breaking is a colloquialism used to refer to the process used by humans to get horses to let themselves be ridden or harnesed. Before such a learning process is accomplished, a horse will normally react to attempts to ride it about the way a young child reacts to getting a hypodermic injection, or the first haircut with a barber's buzzing shears.

Starting at least as early as the Greek equestrian Xenophon, people have had the knowledge that would let them conclude that the idea of horse breaking is a bad one, or at least that the term is extremely inappropriate to what the best trainers actually do. Nevertheless, violence is still sometimes visited upon horses in pursuit of the goal of breaking their spirits to make them tractable equine servants. Some people believe that violence sufficient to break the will of a horse must be used to cause the horse to submit to the will of human beings. Other people, based on their experiences that are consonant with the words of Xenophon, John Solomon Rarey, and other humane horse trainers, observe that there is no point (outside of a rodeo contest) to engage in "bucking bronco riding" if the cooperation of the horse can be secured by kindness. All of these methods have their adherents.

Horses are large and extremely powerful animals. They owe no automatic deference to human beings, and before some ground rules have been established a colt may nip a human being in the same spirit of testing for dominance as he will nip a pasture-mate. A horse may also contend with a human for dominance in the pasture, and in so doing may charge at any human beings entering the pasture with the intent of driving them into submission. Horses work out their own dominance order among themselves, and they must learn to be civil both among themselves and with human beings. It is easier for humans to deal with a young horse that has been civilized by older horses (who will retaliate in kind if the youngster bites or kicks), but in any case the horse must learn that the cost of an attempted bite or kick is prompt and measured retaliation. That generally means a cuff on the muzzle for an attempted bite, and a swat with a switch of some kind for an attempted kick.

Back to the first writer on this subject, Xenophon: He argues that it is better for the average citizen or military man to take his young horse to a professional trainer to start the horses career as a mount for human beings. But he clearly understands the basis for a successful relationship between human and horse to be other than for a wild animal, frantic with fear of the unknown, to be taken into confinement and bullied until it no longer resists. Instead, he clearly directs that the owner of the young horse have established a loving relationship with the horse before it ever sees a trainer. He advises the owner to establish a clear understanding with the trainer on what the horse is to be taught, and then continues: "At the same time, pains should be taken on the owner's part to see that the colt is gentle, tractable, and affectionate when delivered to the professional trainer. That is a condition of things that for the most part may be brought about at home and by the groom -- if he knows how to let the animal connect hunger and thirst and the annoyance of flies with solitude, while associating food and drink and escape from sources of irritation with the presence of man. As the result of this treatment, necessarily the young horse will acquire -- not fondness merely, but an absolute craving for human beings. A good deal can be done by touching, stroking, and patting those parts of the body that the creature likes to have so handled. These are the hairiest parts, or where, if there is anything annoying him, the horse can least of all apply relief himself.

"The groom should have standing orders to take his charge through crowds, and to make him familiar with all sorts of sights and noises; and if the colt shows sign of apprehension at them, he must teach him -- not by cruel, but by gentle handling -- that they are not really formidable." (See the entire Project Gutenberg text at [this site]).

Once this basic trust is established, it requires only tact and patience to let the horse understand, by gradually accustoming it to bearing greater and greater portions of the weight of its human friend, that no harm will come to it through letting itself be ridden. The horse needs to learn that the presence of a human rider is not the same as the springing of a lion or tiger onto its back. John Solomon Rarey, in his book The Complete Horse Tamer quotes from an earlier writer in a section called "Powell's Management of Wild Horses," and gives extremely detailed and considerate instructions on how to secure the willing agreement of the horse to being ridden. The discussion is too long and detailed to be summarized here, and doing so would deprive the reader of the opportunity of savoring the original discussion. Fortunately, Rarey's entire book is available on-line: (click here)

Other techniques have been used since Xenophon's time. Frederico Grisone, writing in 1569, detailed many techniques for using force to subdue horses. "These include such methods as pushing the horse's head under water and nearly drowning him if he shows fear of crossing streams, to say nothing of the various [harsh bits that] he designed." (Margaret Cabell Self, Horsemastership, p. 5) La Broue wrote a book on horse breaking in 1612. "One learns from his text that his horses were constantly becoming lame, or so vicious that they could not be handled." (Op. cit.)

There are several techniques that diverge from the Xenophon tradition, and which have continued to be used down to the present, the most well known being simply to throw a saddle on an unwilling horse and then to contest with it until its will to resist is finally broken. In addition, some people follow the practice of tying a frightened animal to a barn or tree until its struggles cease. A less costly way of bronco riding, from the standpoint of time and injuries, is to mount the horse in water sufficiently deep to impede its struggles.

The practice of "sacking out" is fairly widely used, and, in the practice of some trainers, differs only in details from the way that Xenophon advises grooms to lead their horses through many potentially frightening but actually innocent situations. Other trainers advocate more vigorous use of this technique.

The Rarey technique is designed to be used in extreme circumstances, and has been dramatized in an accurate and responsible way in the novel and the motion picture The Horse Whisperer (Nicholas Evans, Delacorte Press, 1995).

In his book, Rarey quotes the work of an earlier author, identified only as “Powell”. ([| Read here.]) Powell’s instructions for handling the task of establishing a positive relationship between horse and human, and Rarey’s own observations and special training methods, have summarized the elaborations of Xenophon’s basic instructions made so many centuries earlier. A list of classical and recent writers on the subject of horse training and equitation is available at: http://www.hippotherapy.be/adresses/auteurs.htm

The argument over whether horses are creatures whose will needs to be broken to suit them to the wills of human beings, or whether they are creatures with whom it is possible to form cooperative, even symbiotic, relationships still persists into the present. There are present-day proponents of subordinating horses by force and present-day proponents of establishing cooperative relationships between humans and horses. The psychological studies of Ivan Pavlov and Burrhus Frederic Skinner have been applied to horse training through the use of techniques such as clicker training. But, for the most part, there is not much known at present that was not already present in Xenophon’s essay on the subject. There is a great deal more elaboration present in currently published books, but after over 3000 years of observation by interested and intelligent people, there has not been much more for humans to learn.

The one exception lies in the singular contribution to equine psychology made by Monty Roberts. Other people have observed submissive behavior in horses, and other people have used consequences of this principle of equine interaction to aid them in capturing horses, but only Roberts saw through the surface phenomena to the underlying principles of equine interaction and some of the most salient features of equine psychology. Others have implied that Roberts is only a good showman, a savvy commercial operator who has made himself famous by touting what everybody who really knows about horses already knows, and other complaints and accusations have been made to put his contributions into question. However, the fact remains that he has discovered, taught about, and written about a regularity of equine behavior that had never been mentioned before even by the most excellent horsemen and trainers from Xenophon to John Rarey, and on down to the time of his work in the Twentieth Century.

The Roberts discovery was that an individual horse can negotiate its own status as a member of the herd with the alpha mare of the herd. Through a non-verbal language a misbehaving horse can be asked whether it is prepared to submit to the good social order of the herd, or chooses to leave the herd and take its chances with predators on its own. So once a human being understands how the communication occurs, the horse, even a feral horse, can be asked whether or not it will agree to a social order in which the human holds the position of herd leader. If the horse accepts the proffered offer of a cooperative social relationship with human beings, then the further negotiations about accepting a saddle, bridle, and rider become much simpler to accomplish because they are conducted in a condition of trust, “herd member to herd member” as it were.

Roberts made his discovery about negotiations in at age thirteen. He was hired to keep a herd of feral horses, mustangs, under observation and to report their location to his employers from time to time. So he had no duties other than to watch the horses. One day he observed that after a yearling colt had made a major pest of himself by biting and kicking other members of the herd without provocation, the alpha (lead) mare reached the limits of her tolerance for such misbehavior and drove the colt out. Once away from the protection of the herd, the colt felt insecure and wanted to get back among the other horses, but the lead mare kept a threatening eye on him and every time he tried to sneak back in she would forcefully drive him off again.

Finally, the colt that had been ostracized for insubordination seemed to realize that he could not sneak back in and that his position became progressively more perilous the longer he remained outside the protection of the herd. At that point he dropped his head close to the ground and moved along periodically sticking his tongue out to lick around his mouth and clashing his teeth together. The sound created by striking a horse’s large teeth together is rather like the sound produced by hitting one fist-sized stone with another, and is quite audible at some distance. Once the lead mare perceived this message of submission being given by the colt, she signalled that she would allow him to reenter the herd by changing her body language from challenging to placid acceptance. After readmitting him to the herd she spent a great deal of time grooming him.

In the beginning, the colt did not accept any relationship of cooperation with other herd members. From his standpoint he was a free agent who owed no responsibility or cooperation to the other horses. He derived benefit from the herd, which protected him, without giving anything back to the herd. Once matters came to a head, the leader of the herd gave him a choice: cooperate nicely with the other horses or leave.

Roberts learned to take advantage of this way of negotiating subordination and cooperation by mimicing the behavior of the lead mare. He could then communicate with a feral horse or a horse that had learned a fear or even a hatred of human beings because of mistreatment. He could offer the horse a decision fork. The horse could either “leave” (although, unless this operation is done on the open range the horse can’t do anything more than refuse to associate with humans), or agree to a positive relationship with the human. Before this negotiation takes place, the horse behaves as a “wild” individual. That is, it is wary of the unknown humans and it will avoid them for fear that they might be hostile. Or, it may have learned to fear humans because it has observed them to be hostile. After the Roberts method interaction between the human being and the horse, if the horse has accepted the negotiation then it has placed itself in the kind of relationship that it would have with other members of a natural herd. Tentatively, at least, it has decided to trust the human being. After that point has been reached, it is essential for the human to avoid doing anything that would destroy the relationship of trust. But since horses are very apprehensive about new things that appear suddenly in their environment, but not apprehensive about things like bridles, blankets and saddles that they have examined carefully, it is not difficult to get a horse to accept a saddle and bridle.

At each stage of the process from what Roberts calls “join up” to accepting a rider, the essential principle is that the horse must be permitted to learn that no harm will come to it in this step. Horses fairly readily accept a human being leaning against them. From that degree of contact it is not a great change for the horse to accept the entire weight of a human being resting with belly on the horse’s back, and with feet on one side and head on the other side. While it is easy to achieve this position without startling the horse and causing it to dislodge the rider, it is much more difficult to achieve a sitting position on the horse’s back. The reason is simply that there is a great deal of motion involved in raising oneself to a high enough position and then throwing one leg over the horse’s back. The suddenness and impact involved is too much like being attacked from above by a predator for most horses to get used to easily.

Aside from the “join up” negotiation, there is not really any difference at all between what Roberts does and what Powell did nearly two hundred years before. (And there is no reason to believe that Powell was the first to use the method he wrote about.) Moreover, like Rarey’s method of establishing a relationship of trust with a horse made vicious by abuse, the Roberts technique would not be needed in the cases where the horse already had a positive relationship with human beings. All the way back to Xenophon (and the still earlier equestrians whose works he had studied), it was accepted as a first principle of training that horse and rider should have established a “member of the family” or “member of the herd” relationship before any attempt was made to ride the horse.

Many principles (and issues) of practical equine psychology are involved in establishing some kind of relation between a human and a horse such that the horse will permit itself to be ridden, pull a plow, draw a carriage, and so forth.

Bibliography

For exact details on the Powell method and the John Rarey method, (click here)

For exact details on the Monty Roberts method, see:

The Man Who Listens to Horses, Monty Roberts, Random House, 1997. ISBN: 0-679-45658-9

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Horse breaking."

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Synonyms: Breaking

Synonyms: break (n), breakage (n). (additional references)

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Synonyms within Context: Breaking

ContextSynonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).

Destruction

Noun: {ant. } destruction; waste, dissolution, breaking up; diruption, disruption; consumption; disorganization.

Disease

Sore, ulcer, abscess, fester, boil; pimple, wen; (swelling); carbuncle, gathering, imposthume, peccant humor, issue; rot, canker, cold sore, fever sore; cancer, carcinoma, leukemia, neoplastic disease, malignancy, tumor; caries, mortification, corruption, gangrene, sphacelus, sphacelation, leprosy; eruption, rash, breaking out.

Fatal disease; (hopeless); dangerous illness, galloping consumption, churchyard cough; general breaking up, break up of the system.

Excitability

Passion, excitement, flush, heat; fever, heat; fire, flame, fume, blood boiling; tumult; effervescence, ebullition; boiling over; whiff, gust, story, tempest; scene, breaking out, burst, fit, paroxysm, explosion; outbreak, outburst; agony.

Feeling

Phrase: the heart big, the heart full, the heart swelling, the heart beating, the heart pulsating, the heart throbbing, the heart thumping, the heart beating high, the heart melting, the heart overflowing, the heart bursting, the heart breaking; the heart goes out, a heart as big as all outdoors (sympathy).

Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

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Crosswords: Breaking

English words defined with "breaking": breaking away, breaking off. (references)
Specialty definitions using "breaking": actual breaking strengthBreaking a Stick, breaking capacity, breaking ground, breaking lag. (references)
Etymologies containing "breaking": Fragor. (references)

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Modern Usage: Breaking

DomainUsage

Screenplays

You wanna hear something really nutty? I heard of a couple guys who wanna build something called an airplane, you know you get people to go in, and fly around like birds, it's ridiculous, right? And what about breaking the sound barrier, or rockets to the moon (Contact; writing credit: Carl Sagan;)

Oh, you're breaking my heart (The Lost World: Jurassic Park; writing credit: David Koepp)

What kind of a machine bends a stalk of corn without breaking it (Signs; writing credit: M. Night Shyamalan)

You broke in again to apologize for breaking in yesterday (Get Shorty ; writing credit: Scott Frank)

Wendy, let me explain something to you. Whenever you come in here and interrupt me, you're breaking my concentration (The Shining; writing credit: Stanley Kubrick)

Lyrics

I was a fool with tha big boys breaking all tha rules (Dear Mama; performing artist: 2Pac)

'Cause you're gonna see my heart breaking (Don't Turn Around; performing artist: Ace Of Base)

We have only stood our grounds, now the storm is breaking (Above The Clouds; performing artist: Amber)

Right now the rules we made are meant for breaking (Lay Your Hands On Me; performing artist: Bon Jovi)

I see the sun breaking DOWN INTO dark clouds and a vision of you standing (Butterfly; performing artist: Crazy Town)

Clever

Parental Observation: An unbreakable toy is useful for breaking other toys. (references; author: unknown)

Cookie pieces contain no calories. The process of breaking causes calorie leakage. (references; author: unknown)

Movie/TV Titles

The Breaking of Bumbo (1970)

Breaking Point (1966)

The Breaking Point (1961)

Breaking the Ice (1938)

The Breaking Point (1924)

Song Titles

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do (performing artist: Neil Sedaka)

Stop Breaking Down (performing artist: Oliver Sain)

Breaking All The Rules (performing artist: She Moves)

This Time (We're Really Breaking Up) (performing artist: Troy Shondell)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Commercial Usage: Breaking

DomainTitle

References

  • The World Market for Ships, Boats, and Other Vessels Excluding Pleasure Craft, Tugs, Pusher Craft, Special Purpose Vessels, and Vessels for Breaking Up: A 2004 Global Trade Perspective (reference)

    (more reference examples)

  

Books

  • Breaking Out of Beginner's Spanish (reference)

  • Secrets of the Vine: Breaking Through to Abundance (reference)

    (more book examples)

  

Periodicals

  

Theater & Movies

  

Music

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Image Slideshow: Breaking

Photos:
Breaking

More pictures...

Illustrations:
Breaking

More pictures...

Computer Images:
Breaking

More pictures...

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Photo Album: Breaking

ThumbnailDescription & CreditThumbnailDescription & Credit

World Record Breaking Paper Airplane. Credit: NASA.

Woods Hole during 1938 hurricane Heavy surf breaking over SE side of Quadrangular dock. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.

Station Mingo, west end of Lovango Cay The "Ground Sea" breaking on the north side of island. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.

Large surf breaking on the North Shore of Oahu. Credit: America's Coastlines.

Several schools of Alewives, or "bait fish", can be seen breaking the surface on a calm Chesapeake Bay day. These fish are an important food source for Rockfish , Bluefish, and other large fish in the bay. Bay Bridge can be seen in the background. Credit: America's Coastlines.

NATHANIEL B. PALMER breaking sea ice in the Ross Sea. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth.

Huge surf breaking a 1/4 mile offshore. Approximately 30-40 miles north of Santa Cruz. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth.

The excitement of a marlin breaking the water captured. Credit: Fisheries.

Foam from breaking surf washes gently against the shore. Credit: Fisheries.

Breaking ground at the dam removal site to test soil for contaminants. Credit: NOAA Restoration Center.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

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Digital Photo Gallery: Breaking
 

"Breaking Waves" by Terry Eaton
Commentary: "Waves breaking on the jetty. Venice, Florida, U.S.A."
"A Breaking Wave" by Matthew Maaskant
Commentary: "A wave in a lake. Visit: http://www.qr5.com ."

Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers.

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Sounds Captioned with "Breaking".

PlayCaptionPlayCaption
Large quantity of glass crashing and breaking.Breaking glass.
Breaking glass then birds tweeting.Large quantity of glass breaking.
Breaking dishes.Dish breaking.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Familiar Quotations: Breaking

AuthorQuotation

Emily Dickinson

If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain.

Henry David Thoreau

I have been breaking silence these twenty-three years and have hardly made a rent in it.

John Donne

Doth not a man die even in his birth? The breaking of prison is death, and what is our birth, but a breaking of prison?

Nikolai Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky

History is fond of her grandchildren, for it offers them the marrow of the bones, which the previous generation had hurt its hands in breaking.

Norman O. Brown

Freedom is poetry, taking liberties with words, breaking the rules of normal speech, violating common sense. Freedom is violence.

Sir John Lubbock

We often hear of people breaking down from overwork, but in nine out of ten they are really suffering from worry or anxiety.

William Hazlitt

Some persons make promises for the pleasure of breaking them.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Historic Usage: Breaking

AuthorDateQuotation

John Locke

1690

This I am sure, whoever, either ruler or subject, by force goes about to invade the rights of either prince or people, and lays the foundation for overturning the constitution and frame of any just government, is highly guilty of the greatest crime, I think, a man is capable of, being to answer for all those mischiefs of blood, rapine, and desolation, which the breaking to pieces of governments bring on a country. (Second Treatise of Government)

Treaty of Versailles

1919

On the coming into force of the present Treaty the German Government must undertake, under the supervision of the Governments of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers, the breaking up of all the German surface warships now under construction. (reference)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Use in Literature: Breaking

TitleAuthorQuote

Contact

Carl Sagan

You know, someone in my position---new inventions, new industries---is always on the thin edge of breaking some law or other

Les Miserables

Hugo, Victor

Her face was still flooded with tears, but her eyes began to fill, like the sky in the breaking of the dawn, with strange radiations of joy.

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Joyce, James

The sunlight breaking suddenly on his sight turned the sky and clouds into a fantastic world of sombre masses with lakelike spaces of dark rosy light

Grapes of Wrath

Steinbeck, John

He pulled at the visor of his cap and creased it in the middle, breaking its cardboard lining so completely that it could never look new again

Gulliver's Travels

Swift, Jonathan

They apprehended my breaking loose, that my diet would be very expensive, and might cause a famine

Walden

Thoreau, Henry David

I took particular pleasure in this breaking of ground, for in almost all latitudes men dig into the earth for an equable temperature

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Non-Fiction Usage: Breaking

SubjectTopicQuote

Health

A method of breaking up kidney stones using shock waves or other means. (references)

Osteoporosis is a condition in which the bones become weak, brittle, and prone to breaking. (references)

Doctors and nurses can do their patients a great service by breaking down this emotional barrier. (references)

Business

Theft at gas stations and of cars are, especially breaking into cars have also becoming more common. (references)

ARM and Symbian are just two examples of the hundreds of British-based firms undertaking ground- breaking research and development into mobile data communications. (references)

Another trend is that the family as a unit is breaking up, because of divorce, etc. Only a couple of years ago, one could always see the tour operators advertising happy families, parents and two kids, on their vacation. (references)

Children

Bulgaria

For example, on August 21, a group of seven men severely kicked and beat a homeless 5-year-old girl in Sofia, breaking her right arm. (references)

Micronesia

The Government is committed to children's welfare through its programs of health care and education; however, these programs have been inadequate to meet the needs of the country's rapidly growing population, particularly in an environment in which the extended family is breaking down. (references)

Civil Liberties

Haiti

Police were present but did not prevent the counter-demonstrators from breaking up the opposition demonstration. (references)

Economic History

Mauritius

The freeport facilities for warehousing, breaking bulk, and re-export should be of particular interest to American companies. (references)

Taiwan

As the Taiwan market becomes more attractive to investors and consumers become more sophisticated, however, this simple system is breaking down. (references)

France

The French microelectronics market has experienced record breaking growth for the past two years largely due to the cellular telephone explosion. (references)

Human Rights

Mexico

In detention, officers beat him, breaking one of his ribs. (references)

Sri Lanka

The EPDP also detained its own members for short periods in Jaffna as punishment for breaking party discipline. (references)

Nepal

On March 29, Maoists attacked Nepali Congress activist Balbhadra Khanal in Tanahu District, breaking his left leg and hand. (references)

Minorities

Yugoslavia

On October 10, a group of men threw stones at Romani houses, breaking some windows, in the Cukaricka Padina settlement in Belgrade. (references)

Macedonia

In June rioters vandalized a Bitola mosque, breaking windows, setting fire to the mosque interior, and breaking open several graves in the adjacent cemetery. (references)

Zimbabwe

However, the Breaking the Silence report prepared by CCJP and the Legal Resources Foundation characterized the government campaign as an effort to impose a one-party state by eliminating support for ZAPU, ZANU's only significant political rival. (references)

Political Economy

UNITED KINGDOM

Since breaking even in 1998, the current account continues to be in deficit. (references)

Jamaica

Mob violence against and vigilante killings of those suspected of breaking the law remained a problem. (references)

Ukraine

In January 2000, a center-right pro-presidential majority was formed, breaking the left's traditional control over the legislature. (references)

Trade

Japan

Knowledge of, and adherence to, these standards and their testing procedures can be the key to making or breaking a sale. (references)

Switzerland

Indeed, cartels had been playing a significant anti-competitive role until the introduction of the new Swiss Cartel Law in June 1995. The law aimed, in particular, at breaking up so-called hard cartels which included price fixing and/or territorial and quantity allocations. (references)

Pakistan

Export of imported goods in their original form is not allowed except for parts obtained from ship breaking, scrapped battery cells, waste dental amalgam, waste exposed x-ray films, items imported against back to back letters of credit and items whose re-export F.O.B price is at least 2.5 percent higher than their C&F price. (references)

Travel

Singapore

Penalties for breaking the law can be more severe than in the United States for similar offences. (references)

Georgia

Although the business day runs from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., the best contact time is 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Business leaders and senior government officials tend to start late, around 10:00 a.m., and work into the night, often breaking off for a late working dinner. (references)

Women

Swaziland

Changing socioeconomic conditions, urbanization, and the increasing prominence of female leaders in government and civic organizations are breaking down barriers to equality. (references)

Worker Rights

Bangladesh

Seeing no alternative for breaking the cycle of poverty, parents sometimes willingly send their children away. (references)

Portugal

Concerted efforts by national police forces have resulted in the breaking up of two large construction industry trafficking rings during the year. (references)

Lexicography

Devil's Dictionary

SCEPTER, n. A king's staff of office, the sign and symbol of his authority. It was originally a mace with which the sovereign admonished his jester and vetoed ministerial measures by breaking the bones of their proponents.

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

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Speeches: Breaking

SpeakerTermPhrase(s)

Andrew Jackson

1829-1837On the unexpected breaking out of hostilities in Florida, Alabama, and Georgia it became necessary in some cases to take the property of individuals for public use.

Lyndon B. Johnson

1963-1969This is true with other programs that are making and breaking new ground.

Bill Clinton

1993-2001For thirty years, family life in America has been breaking down.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Usage Frequency: Breaking

"Breaking" is generally used as a lexical verb (-ing form) -- approximately 92.23% of the time. "Breaking" is used about 2,739 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)
Parts of SpeechPercentUsage per
100 Million Words
Rank in English
Lexical Verb (-ing form)92.23%2,5263,598
Noun (singular)6.09%16724,143
Adjective (general or positive)1.2%3360,273
Noun (proper)0.44%12101,599
Noun (common)0.04%1339,140
                    Total100.00%2,739N/A

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Derived & Related Names: Breaking

The following table summarizes names derived from the word "breaking".
 
NameGenderLanguageMeaning
JeriothN/ABiblical

Breaking asunder

KittimN/ABiblical

Breaking

MaathN/ABiblical

Breaking

MithredathN/ABiblical

Breaking the law

SheberN/ABiblical

Breaking

Taanach-shiloN/ABiblical

Breaking down a fig-tree

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

 

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Expressions: Breaking

Expressions using "breaking": back breaking breaking and entering breaking away breaking ball breaking capacity breaking distance breaking down breaking in breaking into pieces breaking load breaking news breaking of diplomatic relations breaking of the waves breaking off breaking one's heart breaking open breaking out breaking point breaking pressure breaking sea breaking stress breaking through breaking tie breaking up breaking up into smaller units breaking wave breaking wind cloud breaking procedure general breaking up horse breaking house breaking make breaking in prison breaking record breaking sabbath breaking shop breaking the day is breaking. Additional references.

Hyphenated Usage

Beginning with "breaking": breaking-down, breaking-even, breaking-in, breaking-off, breaking-out, breaking-point, breaking-strain, breaking-up, breaking-up mood.

Ending with "breaking": back-breaking, code-breaking, ground-breaking, house-breaking, ice-breaking, mould-breaking, pair-breaking, path-breaking, rule-breaking, stone-breaking, strike-breaking.

Containing "breaking": arduous backbreaking back-breaking grueling gruelling hard heavy laborious labourious punishing slavish strenuous toilsome.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Breaking

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.
 
ExpressionFrequency
per Day
ExpressionFrequency
per Day

breaking news

1,579

house breaking a puppy

39

breaking benjamin

725

breaking habit

37

barnard breaking diet dr food loss neal nutrition seduction weight

715

40 breaking e news

36

breaking up

407

breaking story

35

breaking cnn news

144

breaking in a baseball gloves

34

breaking the wave

133

breaking an apartment lease

33

benjamin breaking lyrics

126

breaking code

33

breaking

122

breaking pangea

32

breaking a lease

105

house breaking

31

breaking up poem

104

water breaking

31

quote about breaking up

101

late breaking news

31

breaking away

96

breaking up is hard to do

29

dog house breaking

60

breaking msnbc news

29

breaking hymen

55

breaking a car lease

29

away breaking director

53

breaking password

28

horse breaking

53

ap breaking news

28

breaking the sound barrier

49

breaking and entering

28

benjamins breaking

43

breaking glass

28

relationship breaking up

41

breaking up song

25

breaking point

40

bread breaking

24
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Modern Translation: Breaking

Language Translations for "breaking"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.

Albanian

  

thyerje (break, breakage, breakup, deflection, demolition, fracture, milling, refraction, roughness, rupture, split, stamping, transgression, violation), shkelje (crushing, delinquency, encroachment, impingement, infraction, infringement, invasion, irregularity, lap, obtrusion, offence, outrage, overlap, perambulation, squelcher, stamping, transgression, trespass, violation), prishje e qetësisë, prishje (abolition, annulment, blasting, breach, breakup, chasm, collapse, corruption, damage, debasement, decay, decomposition, defacement, defeat, defilement, depravation, depravity, deterioration, discord, dissolution, failure, obliteration, quarrel, rancidity, rancidness, rot, split up, spoilage, stymie, taint, vitiation, warp, wrecking), ndërprerje (break, cease, cessation, chasm, check, cutoff, discontinuance, discontinuation, intercept, interception, intermission, interrupt, interruption, intersection, letup, outage, recess, suspension, truce), fillim (beginning, coming-in, commencement, cradle, dawn, inception, incipience, initiation, lead off, offset, onset, opening, origin, origination, outset, prime, rise, river head, seed, send off, set out, start, term), çarje (break, cleavage, cleft, cut, dissection, fissure, fracture, gap, gulf, incision, opening, orifice, rent, rift, slash, split, splitting, wedge). (various references)

   

Arabic 

  

‏فلس (break, crash, go bankrupt, mite, peg out, ruin, smash), ‏فض (adjourn, adjournment, close, scattering, unfold, unwrap), ‏كسر (breach, break, breakage, crash, crush, defeat, double, fold, fraction, fracture, fracturing, infringe, pleat, rout, shatter, shattering, smash, smashing, tuck, vanquish, violate), ‏خرق (breach, break, infraction, infringe, infringement, pierce, puncture, rent, riddle, transgress, transgression, violation), ‏الخرق. (various references)

   

Bulgarian 

  

скъсване (breach, break, rupture, severance), разораване на целина, раздробяване (comminution, fragmentation), чупене (breakage), нарушение (aberration, breach, breaker, contravention, defection, dereliction, disturbance, entrenchment, fault, foul, infraction, infringement, malpractice, offence, offense, perpetration, transgression, violation), прекъсване (adjournment, cessation, check, cutback, discontinuance, discontinuation, discontinuity, disjunction, halt, intermission, interruption, knock, letup, outage, pause, pretermission, standstill, suspension, time out), дифтонгизация. (various references)

   

Chinese 

  

打破 (broken). (various references)

   

Czech

  

rozbíjení. (various references)

   

Danish

  

brækning af hør, brækning (crushing, scutching, vomiting), overslag (disruptive discharge, estimate), gennemslag (bleed through, bleeding, break though, breakdown, discharge failure, disruption, disruptive breakdown, disruptive discharge, electric breakdown, migration, puncture), flokning (flocculation). (various references)

   

Dutch

  

breekwerk, braken (throw up, vomit), vlokvorming (flocculation), onderbreking (interruption), flocculatie (flocculation). (various references)

   

Finnish

  

murto (house-breaking, smash-and-grab raid), katkeaminen (rupture), hajoaminen (decomposition, disintegration, dispersion, dissolution, scattering), höytälöityminen (flocculation). (various references)

   

French

  

bris (breakage), brisage, brisant (breaker), brisement, broyage, faillite, abatage, abattage, déferlant, désobéissance, éclatement (break down, break up), depecement, violation (breach), floculation, fracture (break, breakage), fragmentation (breakage, breakdown, molecule breakdown, molecule breaking), irruption (brusting), macquage, manquement (breach), mise en pièces, reniement, rompant, rupture (break, breakage, breakdown), depecage. (various references)

   

German

  

bruch (breach, breaching, break, breakage, burst, crack, fault, fold, fraction, fracture, fragment, hernia, infringement, lump, piece, quarry, rupture, split, violation), unterbrechend (discontinuing, interceptive, intermitting, interrupting), brechend (breaching, infringing, refractive, rupturing). (various references)

   

Greek 

  

κροκίδωση (flocculation), έκρηξη (blast, blasting, blow out, blow up, burst, detonation, eruption, explosion, outbreak, outburst), σκάσιμο (chap), βατοποίηση (scutching), άνοιγμα (aperture, gap, hatch, leak, opening, orifice, sinus), αποσάθρωση (disaggregation, disintegration, facturing, weathering), θραύση (breach, break, breakage, rupture, snap). (various references)

   

Hebrew 

  

שבירה (breakage, snap), שבר (break, breakage, collapse, crisis, failure, fracture, mishap, rupture, splinter), פרכה (crushing, refutation), השתברות (depression), רעוע (dilapidated, ramshackle, rickety, run down, shaky, shattering, tumble down, unsound), רצוץ (broken, crushed, crushing, dejected, depressed, exhausted, oppressed, oppression). (various references)

   

Hungarian

  

törõ, törés (break, breakage, chip, comminution, crack, cracking, discontinuity, fault, flaw, fraction, fracture, gall, rift in the lute, rift within the lute, rupture, snap, trauma). (various references)

   

Indonesian

  

penggasakan (hitting). (various references)

   

Italian

  

battitura (beating, driving, hammering, hulling, scutching, stippling, thrashing, threshing), trasgressione (disobeying, infringement, misdemeanor, misdemeanour, offence, offense, transgression, trespass), scoppio (access, bang, crack, crash, explosion, gale, outbreak, outburst, peal, pop), scarica (discharge, shot, shower), rottura (breach, break, breakage, breakdown, burst, disruption, fractiousness, pest, rift, Rive, rupture, severance, split, split up), manomissione (intervention, manumission), interruzione (blackout, break, discontinuance, discontinuity, disturbance, hesitation, hiatus, intermission, interruption, outage, recess, stoppage), infrazione (breach, infraction, infringement, misdemeanor, misdemeanour, offence, offense, trespass, violation), gramolazione, gramolatura (cramming, crushing, scutching, working), frattura (break, fraction, fractiousness, fracture, hernia, quotient, rupture), flocculazione (flocculation). (various references)

   

Japanese Kanji 

  

調教 (training), 表面化 (becoming an issue, coming to a head), 破棄 (annulment, revocation). (various references)

   

Japanese Katakana 

  

ひょうめんか (becoming an issue, coming to a head), はき (ambition, annulment, aspiration, reversing, revocation), ちょうきょう (training). (various references)

   

Korean 

  

끊어짐. (various references)

   

Manx

  

traa seyr (break, breaking up, recess, spare time), feer trome (back breaking), branley (break up, breaking up, fallow). (various references)

   

Pig Latin

  

eakingbray.(various references)

   

Portuguese

  

ruptura (abruption, blowout, breach, breakage, burst, bursting, disruption, fracture, rip, rupture, severance, snap). (various references)

   

Romanian

  

spart (broken, harsh, hoarse), spargere (breakage, burglary, housebreaking, smash, split), rupturã (breach, break, cleavage, discontinuance, disruption, failure, hole, inrush, rag, rend, rent, rift, rip, rupture, slit, tear), deconectare (disconnection, disjunction, lock out), concasare. (various references)

   

Russian 

  

руптура, разрыв (abruption, break, breakup, bursitis, burst, disruption, disturbance, divorcement, fracture, gap, jump, laceration, rip, rupture, severance, split, tear, tearing), размыкание (tripping, unswitching), объездка лошадей (dressage, horse breaking, horse-breaking), наступление (advance, advent, attack, offensive), начало (beginning, commencement, cradle, go off, go-off, inception, incipience, kick off, leader, onset, opening, origin, origination, outbreak, outset, prime, proem, set out, start), прерывание (interrupt, interruption), поломка (breakage, breakdown), измельчение (grinding, milling, treatment), дробление (crushing, fragmentation, granulation, milling, treatment). (various references)

   

Scottish

  

bràc (curve as of waves before breaking), tùt (a quiet breaking of wind), fise faise (interjection - noise of things breaking). (various references)

   

Serbo-Croatian

  

raskid (rupture), lomljenje (infraction), lom (breakage, rubble, ruckus, rumpus, trash). (various references)

   

Spanish

  

ruptura (blowout, breach, breakaway, breakdown, breakthrough, breakup, disruption, parting, rupture, severance, split). (various references)

   

Swedish

  

brytning (accent, breach, break, divergence, fracture, mining, quarrying, rending), brott (breach, crime, fracture, leak, offence, offense, rupture, violation). (various references)

   

Turkish

  

bozma (annulment, breach, cancel, cancellation, changing, corruption, defacement, dislocation, dissolution, exchange, impairment, infraction, infringement, mutilation, obliteration, perversion, ruining, spoiling, stain, violation, vitiation), zorla girme (breaking in, intrusion, irruption), meskene tecavüz, kırma (break, breakage, crossbred, fracture, half breed, hybrid, injury, laceration, mestizo, mongrel, pleat, unblooded, underbred), kırılma (break, breakage, fracture, offence, offense, refracting, refraction, refractive, rupture, smash, split). (various references)

   

Ukrainian

  

руйнування (bad, caries, collapse, demolition, destruction, the sword, upset, wrack, wrecking), розрив (avulsion, breach, bursting, chasm, denunciation, dissolution, divorce, divorcement, estrangement, rip, rupture, severance, split, tear), об'їжджання, початок (authorship, beginning, commencement, cradle, dawn, dawning, day-spring, first, inception, incipience, morning, mother, onset, opening, origin, original, origination, outset, prime, proem, prolog, prologue, set out, start, starting, womb), поломка (breakage, crash), дроблення (fragmentation). (various references)

   

Welsh

  

drylliad (wrick). (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Bible Trace: Breaking

LanguageDateSourceRomans Chapter 2, Verse 23
Greek (transliterated)250 BCSeptuagintOV en nomw kaucasai dia thV parabasewV tou nomou ton qeon atimazeiV
Latin405VulgateQui in lege gloriaris per praevaricationem legis Deum inhonoras
Old English990West SaxonÞu, þe gylpest þære æ, unforcyððest þu God þurh lahbrycan?
Middle English1395WyclifThou that hast glorie in the lawe, vnworschipist God bi brekyng of the lawe?
Renaissance English1526TyndaleThou reioysest in the lawe and thorow breakinge the lawe dishonourest God.
Jacobean English1611King JamesThou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?
Victorian English1833WebsterThou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonorest thou God?
Basic English1964OgdenYou who take pride in the law, are you doing wrong to the honour of God by behaviour which is against the law?

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Matched Bible Translations: Breaking

LanguageRomans Chapter 2, Verse 23
CebuanoIkaw nga nagapasigarbo tungod sa kasugoan, gipakaulawan mo ba ang Dios pinaagi sa paglapas sa kasugoan?
CroatianTi koji se Zakonom dièiš, kršenjem toga Zakona Boga obešèašæuješ!
DanishDu, som roser dig af Loven, du vanærer Gud ved Overtrædelse af Loven!
DutchDie op de wet roemt, onteert gij God door de overtreding der wet?
Finnishjoka laista kerskaat, häväiset lainrikkomisella Jumalaa?
FrenchToi qui te fais une gloire de la loi, tu déshonores Dieu par la transgression de la loi!
Germandu rühmst dich des Gesetzes, und schändest Gott durch Übertretung des Gesetzes;
Haitian CreoleWi, ou menm k'ap vante tèt ou deske ou gen lalwa Bondye a ou se yon wont pou Bondye, pou jan w'ap dezobeyi lalwa a!
HungarianKi a törvényben dicsekszel, a törvénynek megrontása által az Istent gyalázod-é?
Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hariSaudara membangga-banggakan bahwa Saudara mempunyai hukum Musa, padahal Saudara menghina Allah dengan tidak menuruti hukum-Nya.
Indonesian-Terjemahan LamaEngkau yang memegahkan dirimu di dalam hal Taurat, tetapi engkau hinakankah Allah dengan melanggar hukum Taurat?
ItalianTu che ti glori della legge, offendi Dio trasgredendo la legge?
LatvianTu lepojies ar likumu, bet, pârkâpdams to, tu pulgo Dievu?
MaoriA koe e whakamanamana na ki te ture, kei te whakaiti ranei koe i te Atua i te mea ka takahi koe i te ture?
NorwegianDu som roser dig av loven, du vanærer Gud ved å bryte loven!
PortugueseTu, que te glorias na lei, desonras a Deus pela transgressão da lei?   
RumanianTu, care te fqlewti cu Legea, necinstewti pe Dumnezeu prin cqlcarea acestei Legi?
ShuarAkupkamun takakjai tusam shiir Enentáimtumayatam nu akupkamu umireachkum Yus yajauch awajeatsmek.
SwahiliKwa kujigamba ati unayo Sheria ya Mungu, je huoni kwamba kwa kuivunja Sheria unamdharau Mungu?
SwedishDu som berömmer dig av lagen, du vanärar Gud genom att överträda lagen,
UmaBohe rahi nono-ta ompi', apa' ria-tana Atura Pue' to naparata-taka Musa owi. Hiaa' napa-mi kalaua-na ane taruge' lau-imi Alata'ala hi ka'uma-na tatuku' hawa' -na!

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Derivations & Misspellings: Breaking

Derivations

Words beginning with "breaking": breakings. (additional references)

Words ending with "breaking": backbreaking, groundbreaking, halterbreaking, heartbreaking, housebreaking, lawbreaking, pathbreaking, strikebreaking, tiebreaking. (additional references)

Words containing "breaking": heartbreakingly, housebreakings, lawbreakings, strikebreakings. (additional references)


Misspellings

"Breaking" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: beaking, bewaking, braakin, breakin, breakingly, breating, Breckin, breeing, Brekanil, brekynge, Breukink, Breuning, Britknit, Erbakan, preaking. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

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Rhyming with "Breaking"

# of Phoneme MatchesPronunciationWord(s) rhyming with "breaking" (pronounced brā"king)
6b r ā" k i ngbraking.
5-r ā" k i ngraking.
4-ā" k i ngaching, baking, faking, flaking, forsaking, making, mistaking, quaking, remaking, retaking, shaking, snaking, staking, taking, waking.
3-k i ngantismoking, asking, attacking, backing, backtracking, balking, banking, barking, basking, biking, bilking, blanking, blinking, blocking, bloodsucking, booking, bookmaking, breathtaking, broking, Brooking, bucking, carjacking, caulking, chalking, checking, choking, chucking, clanking, clicking, cloaking, clucking, cocking, coking, cooking, corking, cornhusking, cracking, cranking, creaking, critiquing, croaking, debunking, decking, disliking, docking, dressmaking, drinking, ducking, duking, earmarking, earthshaking, eking, embarking, evoking, filmmaking, flanking, flicking, flocking, flunking, forking, franking, freaking, frolicking, gawking, glassmaking, groundbreaking, hacking, handshaking, hardworking, harking, Hawking, heartbreaking, hijacking, hiking, hitchhiking, Hocking, homemaking, honking, hooking, hulking, interlocking, invoking, jacking, jaywalking, jerking, joking, junking, kayaking, kicking, knocking, lacking, lawbreaking, lawmaking, leaking, licking, liking, linking, locking, looking, lovemaking, Lucking, lurking, marking, masking, matchmaking, meatpacking, metalworking, milking, mimicking, mocking, moneymaking, moviemaking, mucking, muckraking, multitasking, networking, nitpicking, nonbanking, nonsmoking, overbooking, overlooking, overtaking, packing, painstaking, panicking, papermaking, parking, peacemaking, peaking, pecking, peeking, perking, picking, piggybacking, planking, plinking, plucking, plunking, poking, politicking, provoking, quarterbacking, racking, ranking, ransacking, rebuking, reeking, reinking, remarking, restocking, rethinking, revoking, reworking, risking, rocking, rollicking, sacking, seeking, sharking, shirking, shocking, shrieking, shrinking, shucking, sinking, sleepwalking, smacking, smirking, smoking, sneaking, soaking, socking, spacewalking, spanking, sparking, speaking, spiking, squawking, squeaking, stacking, stalking, steelmaking, sticking, stinking, stockbroking, stocking, stoking, streaking, striking, stroking, sucking, sulking, tacking, talking, tanking, tasking, thanking, ticking, tracking, trafficking, trekking, tricking, trucking, tucking, tweaking, undertaking, undocking, unlocking, unpacking, unthinking, viking, walking, whacking, winking, wisecracking, woodworking, working, wracking, wreaking, wrecking, yanking.

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

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Anagrams: Breaking

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Direct Anagrams: beraking.

Words within the letters "a-b-e-g-i-k-n-r"

-1 letter: barking, bearing, braking, kerbing.

-2 letters: baking, banger, banker, baring, binger, earing, gainer, graben, raking, reagin, regain, regina.

-3 letters: anger, bairn, baker, barge, began, begin, being, biker, binge, brain, brake, brank, break, brine, bring, brink, eking, garni, giber, grain, inker, kebar, kiang, range, regna, reign, reink, renig.

-4 letters: abri, ager, agin, airn, akin, bake, bane.

 Words containing the letters "a-b-e-g-i-k-n-r"
 

+1 letter: breakings, debarking, embarking, prebaking.

 

+2 letters: bracketing, overbaking, ringbarked.

 

+3 letters: aerobraking, bedarkening, keyboarding, lawbreaking, reembarking, tiebreaking.

 

+4 letters: backbreaking, benchmarking, breakfasting, breathtaking, disembarking, greenbackism, lawbreakings, pathbreaking.

 

+5 letters: benchmarkings, greenbackisms, heartbreaking, housebreaking, rekeyboarding, skateboarding, troublemaking.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.

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INDEX

1. Definition
2. Synonyms
3. Crosswords
4. Usage: Modern
5. Usage: Commercial
6. Images: Slideshow
7. Images: Photo Album
8. Images: Digital Art
9. Sounds
10. Quotations: Familiar
11. Quotations: Historic
12. Quotations: Fiction
13. Quotations: Non-fiction
14. Quotations: Speeches
15. Usage Frequency
16. Names: Derived from
17. Expressions
18. Expressions: Internet
19. Translations: Modern
20. Bible Trace
21. Derivations
22. Rhymes
23. Anagrams
24. Bibliography


  

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