Adjacent Words

Breach definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BREACH, n.
1. The act of breaking; or state of being broken; a rupture; a break; a gap; the space between the severed parts of a solid body parted by violence; as a breach in a garment, or in a wall.
2. The violation of a law; the violation or non-fulfillment of a contract; the non-performance of a moral duty; non-performance of duty being a breach of obligation, as well as a positive transgression or violation.
Every breach of the public engagements is hurtful to public credit.
3. An opening in a coast. [Not usual.]
4. Separation between friends by means of enmity; difference; quarrel.
5. Infraction; injury; invasion; as a breach upon kingly power.
6. Bereavement; loss of a friend and its consequent affliction.
7. A violation of the public peace, as by a riot, affray, or any tumult which is contrary to law, and destructive to the public tranquillity, is called a breach of the peace.
BREACH, v.t. To make a breach, or opening.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: 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, breach, break, severance, rift, falling out] v
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, offend, infract, violate, go against, breach, break] [ant: keep, observe]
2: make an opening or gap in [syn: gap, breach]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English breche, from Old English br?c act of breaking; akin to Old English brecan to break Date: before 12th century 1. infraction or violation of a law, obligation, tie, or standard 2. a. a broken, ruptured, or torn condition or area b. a gap (as in a wall) made by battering 3. a. a break in accustomed friendly relations b. a temporary gap in continuity ; hiatus 4. a leap especially of a whale out of water II. verb Date: 1547 transitive verb 1. to make a breach in <breach a wall> 2. break, violate <breach an agreement> intransitive verb to leap out of water <a whale breaching>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 (often foll. by of) the breaking of or failure to observe a law, contract, etc. 2 a a breaking of relations; an estrangement. b a quarrel. 3 a a broken state. b a gap, esp. one made by artillery in fortifications. --v.tr. 1 break through; make a gap in. 2 break (a law, contract, etc.). Phrases and idioms: breach of the peace an infringement or violation of the public peace by any disturbance or riot etc. breach of promise the breaking of a promise, esp. a promise to marry. stand in the breach bear the brunt of an attack. step into the breach give help in a crisis, esp. by replacing someone who has dropped out. Etymology: ME f. OF breche, ult. f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Breach Breach, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Breached; p. pr. & vb. n. Breaching.] To make a breach or opening in; as, to breach the walls of a city.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Breach Breach, v. i. To break the water, as by leaping out; -- said of a whale.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Breach 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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(breaches, breaching, breached) 1. If you breach an agreement, a law, or a promise, you break it. The newspaper breached the code of conduct on privacy... = violate VERB: V n 2. A breach of an agreement, a law, or a promise is an act of breaking it. The congressman was accused of a breach of secrecy rules. ...a $1 billion breach of contract suit. = violation N-VAR 3. A breach in a relationship is a serious disagreement which often results in the relationship ending. (FORMAL) Their actions threatened a serious breach in relations between the two countries. ...the breach between Tito and Stalin. = rift, rupture N-COUNT: usu N in/between n 4. If someone or something breaches a barrier, they make an opening in it, usually leaving it weakened or destroyed. (FORMAL) Fire may have breached the cargo tanks and set the oil ablaze. = rupture VERB: V n 5. If you breach someone's security or their defences, you manage to get through and attack an area that is heavily guarded and protected. The bomber had breached security by hurling his dynamite from a roof overlooking the building. VERB: V n • Breach is also a noun. ...widespread breaches of security at Ministry of Defence bases. N-COUNT 6. If you step into the breach, you do a job or task which someone else was supposed to do or has done in the past, because they are suddenly unable to do it. I was persuaded to step into the breach temporarily when they became too ill to continue. PHRASE: V inflects

Easton's Bible Dictionary

an opening in a wall (1 Kings 11:27; 2 Kings 12:5); the fracture of a limb (Lev. 24:20), and hence the expression, "Heal, etc." (Ps. 60:2). Judg. 5:17, a bay or harbour; R.V., "by his creeks."

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

brech: Represented by

(1) perets = "a tear," "a rending asunder," "a break," hence, figuratively "enmity," "disruption," "strife" (Ge 38:29; Jud 21:15; 2Sa 5:20; 1Ch 15:13; Ne 6:1; Job 16:14; Ps 106:23; Isa 30:13; 58:12);

(2) shebher = "fracture," "affliction," "bruise," "destruction" (Le 24:20; Jer 14:17; La 2:13; Ps 60:2);

(3) bedheq = "a gap" or "leak" (in a building or ship) occurring in 2Ki 12:5-8,12; 22:5;

(4) tenu'ah = "alienation," "breach of promise" (Nu 14:34 the King James Version);

(5) miphrats = "a break" (in the shore), and hence, "a haven" (Jud 5:17, the Revised Version (British and American) "creeks").

Frank E. Hirsch

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Break, fracture, rupture, opening, chasm, gap, crack, flaw, fissure, rent, rift. 2. Infraction, violation, infringement, non-observance. 3. Quarrel, difference, variance, disagreement, dissension, schism, misunderstanding, alienation, disaffection, rupture, falling out.

Moby Thesaurus

abysm, abyss, alienation, arroyo, atrocity, bad faith, bore, box canyon, breach of contract, breach of faith, breach of friendship, breach of privilege, breach of promise, breach of trust, break, break in, break into, break open, break through, breakage, breaking, burst, burst in, bust, bust in, caesura, canyon, cave in, cavity, cessation, chap, chasm, check, chimney, chink, chip, cleavage, cleave, cleft, cleuch, clough, col, contravene, contravention, coulee, couloir, crack, cranny, crevasse, crevice, crime, crime against humanity, cut, cut apart, cwm, deadly sin, defile, delinquency, dell, dereliction, difference, dike, disaffection, discontinuity, discord, disfavor, disharmony, disobedience, disregard, disrupt, disruption, dissension, disunion, disunity, ditch, divergence, dividedness, division, donga, draw, enormity, error, estrangement, evil, excavation, exfoliate, failure, falling-out, fault, felony, fissure, flaw, flume, force open, fracture, furrow, gap, gape, gash, genocide, gorge, groove, guilty act, gulch, gulf, gully, heavy sin, hiatus, hole, impropriety, incise, incision, indiscretion, inexpiable sin, infract, infraction, infringe, infringement, iniquity, injury, injustice, interim, intermission, interruption, interval, invade, joint, kloof, lacuna, lapse, leak, letup, lull, malefaction, malfeasance, malum, minor wrong, misdeed, misdemeanor, misfeasance, moat, mortal sin, neglect, nonfeasance, nonobservance, notch, nullah, offend, offense, omission, open, open fire, open rupture, open up, opening, outrage, pass, passage, pause, peccadillo, peccancy, penetrate, prize open, quarrel, ravine, recall of ambassadors, rent, rift, rime, rip, rive, rupture, scale, schism, scissure, seam, secession, separation, severance, sin, sin of commission, sin of omission, sinful act, slash, slice, slip, slit, slot, snap, splinter, split, split open, stove in, strife, suspension, tear, tear open, tort, transgress, transgression, trench, trespass, trip, unutterable sin, valley, variance, venial sin, violation, void, wadi, withdrawal, wrong