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 separate share a recorded sense, so the question is not what they mean but which one fits. break means “terminate”. separate means “act as a barrier between; stand between”. 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!”
/ˈsɛpɚˌeɪt/
1.v.act as a barrier between; stand between
“The mountain range divides the two countries”
2.v.force, take, or pull apart
“He separated the fighting children”
3.v.mark as different
“We distinguish several kinds of maple”
| break | separate | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈbɹeɪk/ | /ˈsɛpɚˌeɪt/ |
| Said | brayk | SEP-ur-ayt |
| Syllables | 1 | 3 |
| Letters | 5 | 8 |
| Parts of speech | verb, noun | verb, adjective, noun |
| Senses | 75 | 19 |
| How common | Core | Common |
| Synonyms | interrupt | divide |
Full entry for break · Full entry for separate · More comparisons