break
/ˈbɹeɪk/
verbnoun
Core
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!”
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break and burst share a recorded sense, so the question is not what they mean but which one fits. break means “terminate”. burst means “come open suddenly and violently, as if from internal pressure”. break is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈbɹeɪk/
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!”
/ˈbɝst/
1.v.come open suddenly and violently, as if from internal pressure
“The bubble burst”
2.v.force out or release suddenly and often violently something pent up
“break into tears”
3.v.burst outward, usually with noise
“The champagne bottle exploded”
| break | burst | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈbɹeɪk/ | /ˈbɝst/ |
| Said | brayk | burst |
| Syllables | 1 | 1 |
| Letters | 5 | 5 |
| Parts of speech | verb, noun | verb, noun |
| Senses | 75 | 12 |
| How common | Core | Common |
| Synonyms | interrupt | split, break open |
Full entry for break · Full entry for burst · More comparisons