brake and break are homophones: they are pronounced identically and spelled differently, which is why they are so often swapped. brake means “a restraint used to slow or stop a vehicle”. break means “terminate”. break is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈbɹeɪk/
1.n.a restraint used to slow or stop a vehicle
2.n.any of various ferns of the genus Pteris having pinnately compound leaves and including several popular houseplants
3.n.large coarse fern often several feet high; essentially weed ferns; cosmopolitan
/ˈbɹeɪk/
| brake | break | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈbɹeɪk/ | /ˈbɹeɪk/ |
| Said | brayk | brayk |
| Syllables | 1 | 1 |
| Letters | 5 | 5 |
| Parts of speech | noun, verb | verb, noun |
| Senses | 7 | 75 |
| How common | Common | Core |
| Synonyms | none recorded | interrupt |
Full entry for brake · Full entry for break · More comparisons
1.v.terminate
“She interrupted her pregnancy”
2.v.become separated into pieces or fragments
“The figurine broke”
3.v.render inoperable or ineffective
“You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!”