A2 (Elementary)

birthplace

birth‧place /ˈbɜːθpleɪs $ ˈbɜːrθ-/ BrE AmE noun [countable usually singular]
1. the place where someone was born, used especially when talking about someone famous:
Stratford-upon-Avon was Shakespeare’s birthplace.
2. the place where something first started to happen or exist:
New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz.
 

delay

I. de‧lay¹ W3 /dɪˈleɪ/ BrE AmE noun
1. [countable] when someone or something has to wait, or the length of the waiting time:
Sorry for the delay, Mr Weaver.
delay in
Why was there a delay in warning the public?
delay of
a delay of about an hour
long/considerable/slight etc delay
Long delays are expected on the motorways.
2. [uncountable] when something does not happen or start when it should do
without delay
They must restore normal services without delay.
There can be no excuse for any further delay.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + delay
▪ a slight/short delay There was a slight delay in the departure of the plane.
▪ a long/lengthy delay Patients often face long delays in getting the treatment they need.
▪ a considerable/serious delay (=very long) After a considerable delay, the report was finally published.
▪ a 20-minute/6-month/4-week etc delay A train had broken down, causing a two-hour delay.
▪ traffic delays The roadworks are likely to cause serious traffic delays.
▪ flight delays Unfortunately flight delays do sometimes occur.
■ verbs
▪ cause/lead to a delay The bad weather caused a three-hour delay in sending out rescue helicopters.
▪ experience delays People are experiencing considerable delays in receiving their mail.
▪ face delays (=be likely to experience them) Commuters face long delays as a result of the rail strikes.
▪ reduce delays (=make them shorter and less frequent) The new rules should reduce delays in bringing prisoners to trial.
■ phrases
▪ a series of delays (=a number of delays) After a series of delays and setbacks, the project was finally approved.

wood S2 W2 /wʊd/ BrE AmE noun
[Word Family: adjective: ↑wooded, ↑wooden, ↑woody; noun: ↑wood, ↑woodenness; adverb: ↑woodenly]
[Language: Old English; Origin: wudu]

1. [uncountable and countable] the material that trees are made of ⇨ wooden, woody:
Put some more wood on the fire.
a polished wood floor
Her house was made of wood. ⇨ ↑hardwood, ↑softwood
2. [countable] (also the woods) a small forest:
a walk in the woods
3. touch wood British English, knock on wood American English said just after you have said that things are going well for you, when you want your good luck to continue
4. [countable] one of a set of four ↑golf clubs with wooden heads
5. not be out of the wood(s) yet informal used to say that there are likely to be more difficulties before things improve
6. not see the wood for the trees to not notice what is important about something because you give too much of your attention to small details
⇨ ↑dead wood
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ solid wood You can install a solid wood door.
▪ bare wood (=not painted or covered) The floors were of bare wood.
▪ a hard/soft wood Oak is a hard wood.
■ verbs
▪ chop wood He was chopping wood for the fire.
▪ cut/saw wood A local carpenter cut the wood to size.
▪ carve wood (=used a knife to shape it) The room was decorated with carved wood.
■ phrases
▪ a piece of wood He made a bench out of pieces of wood.
▪ a plank of wood (=a long thin flat piece) The shed was constructed from some old planks of wood.
▪ a block of wood I used a block of wood to knock the pole into the ground.
▪ the grain of the wood (=the natural lines in it) The oil enhances the natural grain of the wood.
■ wood + NOUN
▪ wood chips (=small rough pieces) Fish are smoked slowly over wood chips.
▪ wood shavings (=thin curly pieces) He cleared up the wood shavings.
▪ wood smoke There was a smell of wood smoke.

lend

lend S3 W3 /lend/ BrE AmE verb (past tense and past participle lent /lent/)
[Language: Old English; Origin: lænan, from læn; ⇨ ↑loan¹]
1.
a) [transitive] to let someone borrow money or something that belongs to you for a short time ⇨ borrow
lend something to somebody
I lent my CD player to Dave and I haven’t got it back yet.
lend somebody something
The hospital agreed to lend us a wheelchair.
Can you lend me £10 until tomorrow?
b) [intransitive and transitive] if a bank or financial institution lends money, it lets someone have it on condition that they pay it back later, often gradually, with an additional amount as ↑interest:
The government is trying to encourage the banks to lend more.
lend something to somebody
A lot of banks are unwilling to lend money to new businesses.
lend somebody something
The building society agreed to lend us £60,000.
2. lend (somebody) a hand to help someone do something, especially something that needs physical effort:
Can you lend me a hand with this?
3. [transitive] formal to give a situation, event etc a particular quality
lend something to something
The presence of members of the royal family lent a certain dignity to the ceremony.
4. lend an ear to listen to someone, especially in a sympathetic way:
He’s always prepared to lend a sympathetic ear.
5. lend itself to something to be suitable for being used in a particular way:
None of her books really lends itself to being made into a film.
6. lend (your) support (to something) to support or help someone:
The government has now lent its support to the campaign.
7. lend weight/support to something to make an opinion or belief seem more likely to be correct:
The police have new evidence which lends weight to their theory.
8. lend your name to something to announce publicly that you support something that someone is trying to do:
The French prime minister has now lent his name to the protest.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ lend (also loan especially American English) to let someone borrow money or something that belongs to you for a short time: Can you lend me $20? | Did you lend that book to Mike? | The documents were loaned by the local library.
▪ let somebody use something/let somebody have something to let someone use something that belongs to you for a short time, especially a room, a house, or something big and expensive: Some friends are letting us use their house while they are on vacation. | Dad said he’d let me have his car for the weekend.
▪ be on loan if something is on loan, it has been lent to a person or organization in an official way – often used about a library book or a work of art: The museum has an exhibition of paintings on loan from the Louvre. | According to the computer, this book is still out on loan.

fall

I. fall¹ S1 W1 /fɔːl $ fɒːl/ BrE AmE verb (past tense fell /fel/, past participle fallen /ˈfɔːlən $ ˈfɒːl-/)
[Language: Old English; Origin: feallan]
1. MOVE DOWNWARDS [intransitive] to move or drop down from a higher position to a lower position:
The tree was about to fall.
The book fell from his hands.
Enough rain had fallen to flood the grounds.
fall down
Rob fell down the stairs.
She flushed and her eyes fell (=she looked down).
2. STOP STANDING/WALKING ETC [intransitive] to suddenly go down onto the ground after you have been standing, walking, or running, especially without intending to:
I fell and hit my head.
slip/stumble/trip etc and fall
He slipped and fell on the ice.
fall down
Lizzie fell down and hurt her knee.
Peter was playing by the river when he fell in (=fell into the water).
fall to/on your knees (=move down to the ground so that your body is resting on your knees)
She fell to her knees beside his body. ⇨ fall flat on your face at ↑flat³(5)
3. DECREASE [intransitive] to go down to a lower level, amount, price etc, especially a much lower one OPP rise:
The rate of inflation was falling.
The island is warm all year round and winter temperatures never fall below 10 degrees.
He believes that educational standards are falling.
fall from
Advertising revenue fell from $98.5 million to $93.3 million.
fall to
The number of subscribers had fallen to 1,000.
fall sharply/steeply (=by a large amount)
London share prices fell sharply yesterday.
REGISTER
In everyday English, people often say an amount or level goes down rather than falls:
▪ House prices have gone down again.
4. BECOME [intransitive, linking verb] to start to be in a new or different state
fall adj
I’ll stay with her until she falls asleep.
I think that I’ve fallen in love with Angela.
She fell ill with flu.
Albert fell silent and turned his attention to his food.
fall into
The house was empty for many years and fell into disrepair.
One false step can mean falling into debt.
He fell into despair.
5. BELONG TO A GROUP [intransitive always + preposition] to belong to or be part of a particular group, area of responsibility, range of things, or type of things
fall into
Many illnesses fall into the category of stress-related illnesses.
Leaders fall into two categories.
fall within
The judge said that this matter did not fall within the scope of the auditor’s duties.
fall under
The job falls under the heading of ‘sales and marketing’.
Meat production falls under the control of the Agriculture Department.
6. fall short of something to be less than the amount or standard that is needed or that you want:
This year’s profit will fall short of 13%.
He would sack any of his staff who fell short of his high standards.
7. fall victim/prey to something/somebody to get a very serious illness or be attacked or deceived by someone:
Breastfed babies are less likely to fall victim to stomach disorders.
people who fall victim to violence
8. night/darkness/dusk falls if night etc falls, it starts to become dark at the beginning of the night:
It grew colder as night fell.
Darkness had fallen by the time we reached home.
9. silence/a hush/sadness etc falls literary used to say that a person, group, or place becomes quiet, sad etc:
A long silence fell between us.
10. START DOING SOMETHING [intransitive] to start doing something or being involved with something, often without intending to:
I fell into conversation with some guys from New York.
He had fallen into the habit of having a coffee every time he passed the coffee machine.
11. fall into place
a) if parts of a situation that you have been trying to understand fall into place, you start to understand how they are connected with each other:
Suddenly, all the details started falling into place.
b) if the parts of something that you want to happen fall into place, they start to happen in the way that you want:
I was lucky because everything fell into place at exactly the right time.
12. fall to pieces/bits
a) to break into many pieces SYN fall apart:
The book had been well used and finally fell to pieces.
b) if something such as a plan or a relationship falls to pieces, it stops working properly SYN fall apart:
The family is falling to pieces.
13. be falling to pieces/bits if something is falling to pieces, it is in very bad condition, especially because it is very old SYN be falling apart:
The house is falling to pieces.
14. fall flat if a joke, remark, or performance falls flat, it fails to interest or amuse people:
Marlow’s attempts at jokes fell flat.
15. fall foul of somebody/something to do something which makes someone angry or which breaks a rule, with the result that you are punished:
He is worried that his teenage kids will fall foul of the law.
16. fall by the wayside to fail, or to stop being done, used, or made:
Health reform was one of his goals that fell by the wayside.
Luxury items fall by the wayside during a recession.
17. fall from grace/favour to stop being liked by people in authority:
He fell from grace for the first time when he was convicted of drink-driving.
18. fall from a great height to be forced to leave an important job or position, or lose the respect that people had for you
19. fall into the hands/clutches of somebody if something or someone falls into the hands of an enemy or dangerous person, the enemy etc gets control or possession of them:
He wants to prevent the business falling into the hands of a competitor.
We must not let these documents fall into the wrong hands.
20. fall into a trap/pitfall to make a mistake that many people make:
Don’t fall into the trap of feeling guilty.
21. fall into step
a) to start to walk next to someone else, at the same speed as them
fall into step beside/with
Holly slowed her pace and fell into step with the old man.
b) to start doing something in the same way as the other members of a group
fall into step with
The other countries on the Council are expected to fall into step with the US.
22. fall into line to obey someone or do what other people want you to do, especially when you do not want to do it at first:
Most countries have signed the treaty but some are reluctant to fall into line.
23. HANG DOWN [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to hang down loosely
fall over
His dark hair fell over his face.
24. LIGHT/SHADOW [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to shine on a surface or go onto a surface:
The last rays of sunlight were falling on the fields.
Arthur’s shadow fell across the doorway.
25. SPECIAL EVENT/CELEBRATION [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to happen on a particular day or at a particular time:
I’d like to dedicate this record to all whose anniversaries fall at this time of year.
fall on
Her birthday will fall on a Friday this year.
26. LOSE POWER [intransitive] if a leader or a government falls, they lose their position of power:
The previous government fell after only 6 months in office.
27. BE TAKEN BY AN ENEMY [intransitive] if a place falls in a war or an election, a group of soldiers or a political party takes control of it
fall to
The city fell to the advancing Russian armies.
28. BE KILLED [intransitive] to be killed in a war SYN die
29. HIT [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to hit a particular place or a particular part of someone’s body
fall on
The first punch fell on his nose.
30. VOICE/SOUND [intransitive] if someone’s voice or a sound falls, it becomes quieter or lower OPP rise
31. it’s as easy as falling off a log spoken used to say that something is very easy to do
32. fall between two stools British English to be neither one type of thing nor another, or be unable to choose between two ways of doing something
33. fall on stony ground British English if a request, suggestion, joke etc falls on stony ground, it is ignored or people do not like it
34. fall from sb’s lips literary if words fall from someone’s lips, they say them
35. fall into sb’s lap if an opportunity falls into someone’s lap, they get it without having made any effort to get it
36. the stress/accent/beat falls on something used to say that a particular part of a word, phrase, or piece of music is emphasized or is played more loudly than the rest:
In the word ‘report’, the stress falls on the second syllable.
⇨ be/fall under a spell at ↑spell²(3), ⇨ fall on your feet at ↑foot¹(19), ⇨ sb’s face fell at ↑face¹(2), ⇨ stand or fall by/on at ↑stand¹(33)
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ fall (also fall over, fall down) to suddenly go down onto the floor when standing, walking, or running: She fell on the stairs and broke her ankle. | Children are always falling over.
▪ trip on/over something to fall or almost fall when you hit your foot against something: Someone might trip over those toys. | I tripped on a piece of wood.
▪ slip to fall or almost fall when you are walking on a wet or very smooth surface: She slipped and hurt her ankle. | I was scared I would slip on the highly polished floor.
▪ stumble to almost fall when you put your foot down in an awkward way: He stumbled and almost fell. | One of our porters stumbled on the rough ground.
▪ collapse to fall suddenly and heavily to the ground, especially when you become unconscious: One of the runners collapsed halfway through the race.
▪ lose your balance to become unsteady so that you start to fall over: She lost her balance on the first step and fell down the stairs. | Have something to hold onto, in case you lose your balance.
▪ fall flat on your face to fall forwards so you are lying on your front on the ground: She fell flat on her face getting out of the car.
fall about phrasal verb British English
to laugh a lot about something:
It was so funny everyone just fell about laughing.
fall apart phrasal verb
1. if an organization, system, relationship etc falls apart, it stops being effective or successful:
Don’t be reckless or your plans may fall apart.
The health service is falling apart at the seams.
2. be falling apart to be in very bad condition:
Tommy’s old bicycle was rusty and falling apart.
3. to break into pieces:
The book fell apart in my hands.
4. to be unable to deal with your personal or emotional problems:
She had to get some rest or she was going to fall apart.
5. sb’s world/life falls apart if someone’s world or life falls apart, something very bad and serious happens which changes their life:
When his wife left him, his world fell apart.
fall away phrasal verb
1. to slope down:
From where we stood, the ground fell away sharply to the valley floor.
2. to become separated from something after being fixed to it:
The paint was falling away in patches.
3. if a feeling falls away, you stop having it, usually suddenly:
The view from the top was wonderful and our tiredness fell away.
4. British English to decrease SYN fall OPP rise:
Demand for our more theoretical courses has fallen away.
fall back phrasal verb
1. if soldiers fall back, they move back because they are being attacked SYN retreat:
He yelled for his men to fall back.
2. to move backwards because you are very surprised, frightened etc:
Scott fell back a pace in astonishment.
3. British English to decrease SYN fall OPP rise:
When inflation started to rise, house prices fell back.
fall back into something phrasal verb
to go back to doing something or behaving in a way which you did before:
I was amazed at how easily I fell back into the old routine.
fall back on somebody/something phrasal verb
to use something or depend on someone’s help when dealing with a difficult situation, especially after other methods have failed
have somebody/something to fall back on
She has no relatives to fall back on.
Where negotiation fails, they must fall back on the law. ⇨ ↑fallback
fall behind (somebody/something) phrasal verb
1. to go more slowly than other people so that they gradually move further ahead of you:
His mother was chatting and didn’t notice that he had fallen behind.
She hurt her ankle and had fallen behind the others.
2. to become less successful than other people, companies, countries etc:
After her time in hospital, Jenny’s parents are afraid she has fallen behind educationally.
Companies that are not market-driven risk falling behind the competition.
3. to fail to finish a piece of work or pay someone money that you owe them at the right time
fall behind (somebody/something) with/on
After losing his job, he fell behind with his mortgage payments.
The project has fallen behind schedule.
fall down phrasal verb
1. be falling down if a building is falling down, it is in very bad condition:
The bridge is falling down and will need a million dollars to repair it.
2. to fail because of a particular reason or in a particular way:
That’s where the whole argument falls down.
fall down on
He is falling down on the supervisory aspects of his job.
The local authority is falling down on the job of keeping the streets clean.
fall for somebody/something phrasal verb informal
1. to be tricked into believing something that is not true:
He is too smart to fall for that trick.
2. to start to love someone:
That was the summer I worked at the fairground, and met and fell for Lucy.
3. to like a place as soon as you see it
fall in phrasal verb
1. if the roof, ceiling etc falls in, it falls onto the ground SYN collapse
2. to start walking or forming a line of people behind someone else
fall in behind
His men fell in behind him.
fall into something phrasal verb
1. to move somewhere quickly by relaxing your body and letting it fall on something:
She turned and fell into his arms.
We fell into bed, exhausted.
2. to start doing something by chance:
I fell into the job really.
fall in with somebody/something phrasal verb
1. to accept someone’s ideas, decisions etc and not disagree with them:
Once she explained her problem, he was happy to fall in with her plans.
2. to become friendly with a person or group of people after meeting them by chance SYN get in with:
She fell in with the wrong crowd in her teens.
fall off phrasal verb
1. fall off (something) if part of something falls off, it becomes separated from the main part:
The door handle keeps falling off.
A button had fallen off her jacket.
2. if the amount, rate, or quality of something falls off, it decreases SYN fall OPP rise:
Audience figures fell off during the second series of the programme.
3. somebody nearly/almost fell off their chair spoken used to say that someone was very surprised when something happened:
When I saw my brother on the stage I nearly fell off my chair.
⇨ fall off the back of a lorry at ↑lorry
fall on/upon somebody/something phrasal verb
1. if a duty or job falls on someone, they are responsible for doing it:
The responsibility usually falls on the mother.
2. literary to eagerly start eating or using something:
She fell on the food as if she hadn’t eaten for days.
3. literary to suddenly attack or get hold of someone:
Some of the older boys fell on him and broke his glasses.
4. sb’s eyes/gaze/glance fall(s) on something if your eyes etc fall on something, you notice it:
His eyes fell on her bag. ‘Are you going somewhere?’
5. fall on hard/bad times to experience difficulties and problems in your life such as not having enough money:
The aim is to raise money for workers who have fallen on hard times.
6. fall on your sword to leave your job because your organization has done something wrong, and you are taking responsibility for it:
It was clear that the Prime Minister wanted her to fall on her sword.
⇨ fall on deaf ears at ↑deaf(5)
fall out phrasal verb
1. to have a quarrel
fall out with
Carrie’s always falling out with people.
2. if a tooth or your hair falls out, it is then no longer attached to your body:
The drugs made her hair fall out.
3. if soldiers fall out, they stop standing in a line and move away to different places
fall over phrasal verb
1. to fall onto the ground or to fall from an upright position:
Tommy fell over and cut his knee badly.
Her bike fell over.
2. fall over something to hit your foot against something by mistake and fall to the ground SYN trip over:
She fell over the dog and broke her front teeth.
3. fall over yourself to do something to be very eager to do something, especially something you do not usually do:
People were falling over themselves to help her.
fall through phrasal verb
if an agreement, plan, sale etc falls through, it is not completed successfully:
The studio planned to make a movie of the book but the deal fell through.
fall to somebody/something phrasal verb
1. if a duty or job falls to someone, they are responsible for doing it, especially when this is difficult or unpleasant:
It fell to me to give her the bad news.
2. written to start doing something:
They fell to work with a will.
fall to doing something
He fell to thinking about how nice a warm bath would be.

break

I. break¹ S1 W1 /breɪk/ BrE AmE verb (past tense broke /brəʊk $ broʊk/, past participle broken /ˈbrəʊkən $ ˈbroʊ-/)
[Word Family: noun: ↑break, ↑outbreak, ↑breakage; adjective: ↑breakable ≠ ↑unbreakable, ↑broken ≠ ↑unbroken; verb: ↑break]
[Language: Old English; Origin: brecan]
1. SEPARATE INTO PIECES
a) [transitive] if you break something, you make it separate into two or more pieces, for example by hitting it, dropping it, or bending it:
I had to break a window to get into the house.
Don’t lean on the fence like that – you’ll break it!
break something in half/two
He broke the biscuit in half and handed one piece to me.
Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt it over a gentle heat.
b) [intransitive] if something breaks, it separates into two or more pieces:
He kept pulling at the rope until it broke.
The frames are made of plastic and they tend to break quite easily.
2. BONES [transitive] to damage a bone in your body by making it crack or split:
She fell downstairs and broke her hip.
3. MACHINES
a) [transitive] to damage a machine so that it does not work properly:
Don’t mess about with my camera – you’ll break it.
Someone’s broken the TV.
b) [intransitive] if a machine breaks, it stops working properly:
The washing machine’s broken again.
4. RULES/LAWS [transitive] to disobey a rule or law:
They’re breaking the law by employing such young children.
If you break the rules, you will be punished.
The cameras catch motorists who break the speed limit.
5. PROMISE/AGREEMENT [transitive] to not do something that you have promised to do or signed an agreement to do:
I never break my promises.
You betrayed me. You broke your word.
break an agreement/contract
He was worried that he might be breaking his contract.
6. STOP/REST [intransitive] to stop for a short time in order to have a rest or eat something
break for
Shall we break for lunch now?
7. END SOMETHING [transitive] to stop something from continuing:
We need to break the cycle of poverty and crime in the inner cities.
We took turns driving, in order to try and break the monotony.
New talks will begin on Monday in an effort to break the deadlock.
8. DEFEAT SOMEBODY [transitive] to make someone feel that they have been completely defeated and they cannot continue working or living:
Losing his business nearly broke him.
I won’t give in. I won’t be broken by him.
9. DESTROY AN ORGANIZATION [transitive] to damage an organization so badly that it no longer has any power:
The government succeeded in breaking the unions.
10. DAY/DAWN [intransitive] when the day or the ↑dawn breaks, the sky gets light:
Dawn was breaking by the time we arrived home.
11. STORM [intransitive] if a storm breaks, it begins:
We were keen to get back to the hotel before the storm broke.
12. WEATHER [intransitive] if the weather breaks, it suddenly changes and becomes cold or wet:
The following day the weather broke and we had ten days of solid rain.
13. WAVES [intransitive] when waves break, they fall onto the land at the edge of the water:
We sat and watched the waves breaking on the shore
14. SB’S VOICE [intransitive]
a) when a boy’s voice breaks, it becomes lower and starts to sound like a man’s voice:
He was fifteen, and his voice was just beginning to break.
b) if your voice breaks, it does not sound smooth because you are feeling strong emotions:
Her voice broke as she told us what had happened.
15. NEWS
a) [intransitive] if news about an important event breaks, it becomes known:
News of his resignation broke yesterday.
The minister has refused to give any interviews since the scandal broke.
b) [transitive] if you break unpleasant news to someone, you tell it to them:
I didn’t know how I was going to break the news to my mother.
The doctor finally broke it to me that there was no cure.
16. break a habit to stop doing something that you do regularly, especially something that you should not do:
a new drug which helps smokers to break their habit
17. break a record to do something even faster or even better than the previous best time, amount etc:
an attempt to break the 10,000-metres world record
18. break a journey British English to stop somewhere for a short time during a long journey:
We decided to break our journey in Oxford.
19. break sb’s heart to make someone very unhappy by ending a relationship with them or doing something that upsets them a lot:
He broke my heart when he left me.
It’ll break your father’s heart if you tell him you’re giving up college.
20. break a strike to force workers to end a ↑strike:
The government has threatened to bring in the army to break the 10-month-old strike.
21. break a link/tie/connection to end a relationship with a person or organization:
The US has now broken all diplomatic links with the regime.
Sometimes it is necessary to break family ties in order to protect the child.
22. break the skin to cut the skin on your body:
Their teeth are sharp enough to break the skin.
23. break the back of something to finish the main or worst part of something:
I think we’ve broken the back of the job now.
24. break the bank to cost a lot of money, or more money than you have:
A new hard drive doesn’t have to break the bank.
25. break sb’s concentration to interrupt someone and stop them from being able to continue thinking or talking about something:
The slightest sound would break his concentration.
26. break the silence to end a period of silence by talking or making a noise:
The silence was broken by a loud scream.
27. break sb’s spirit to destroy someone’s feeling of determination:
They could not break her spirit.
The spirit of our soldiers will never be broken.
28. break sb’s power to take away someone’s position of power or control:
At last the power of the Church was finally broken.
29. break the ice informal to make people feel more friendly and willing to talk to each other:
Sam’s arrival broke the ice and people began to talk and laugh.
30. break a code to succeed in understanding something that is written in a secret way:
Scientists worked day and night to break the code.
31. break wind to allow gas to escape from your bottom, making a noise and an unpleasant smell
32. break (sb’s) serve to win a game in tennis when your opponent is starting the game by hitting the ball first:
Hewitt broke serve twice in the second set.
33. break a leg spoken used to wish someone luck, especially just before they perform on stage
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 5)
■ break + NOUN
▪ break your promise I’ll never forgive him for breaking his promise to me.
▪ break your word (=break your promise) I’ve promised to do it and I never break my word.
▪ break your vow (=break a serious or formal promise) He accused her of breaking her marriage vows.
▪ break (off) your engagement In the end she decided to break their engagement.
▪ break a contract He took the company to court for breaking the contract.
▪ break an agreement This action broke the international agreement of 1925.
• • •
THESAURUS
■ to break something
▪ break verb [transitive] to damage something and make it separate into pieces, for example by dropping it or hitting it: Careful you don’t break the chair. | He broke his leg.
▪ smash verb [transitive] to break something with a lot of force: A policeman smashed his camera.
▪ snap verb [transitive] to break something into two pieces, making a loud noise – used especially about long thin objects: He snapped the sticks in two.
▪ split verb [transitive] to separate something into two pieces along a straight line: Using a sharp knife, split the melon in half.
▪ fracture verb [transitive] to damage a bone, especially so that a line appears on the surface: I fell over and fractured my wrist.
▪ tear /teə $ ter/ verb [transitive] to damage paper or cloth by pulling it so that it separates into pieces: She tore up the letter and put it in the bin. | I tore my jacket.
■ to become broken
▪ break verb [intransitive] to become damaged and separate into pieces: Plastic breaks quite easily.
▪ smash verb [intransitive] to break after being hit with a lot of force: The bowl smashed as it hit the floor.
▪ shatter verb [intransitive] to break into a lot of small pieces: The glass shattered all over the pavement.
▪ crack verb [intransitive] if something cracks, a line appears on the surface, which means that it could later break into separate pieces: The ice was starting to crack.
▪ burst verb [intransitive] if a tyre, balloon, pipe etc bursts, it gets a hole and air or liquid suddenly comes out of it: She blew up the balloon until it burst.
▪ split verb [intransitive] to break in a straight line: The damp had caused the wood to split.
▪ crumble verb [intransitive] to break into a powder or a lot of small pieces: The cork just crumbled in my hand.
break away phrasal verb
1. to leave a group or political party and form another group, usually because of a disagreement:
More than 30 Labour MPs broke away to form a new left-wing party.
break away from
They broke away from the national union and set up their own local organization. ⇨ ↑breakaway²
2. to leave your home, family, or job and become independent
break away from
I felt the need to break away from home.
3. to move away from someone who is holding you:
She started crying and tried to break away.
break away from
She broke away from him and ran to the door.
4. to move away from other people in a race or game:
Radcliffe broke away 200 metres before the finish.
5. to become loose and no longer attached to something:
Part of the plane’s wing had broken away.
break down phrasal verb
1. if a car or machine breaks down, it stops working:
The car broke down just north of Paris.
The printing machines are always breaking down. ⇨ ↑breakdown
2. to fail or stop working in a successful way:
Negotiations broke down after only two days.
I left London when my marriage broke down. ⇨ ↑breakdown
3. break something ↔ down if you break down a door, you hit it so hard that it breaks and falls to the ground:
Police had to break down the door to get into the flat.
4. break something ↔ down to change or remove something that prevents people from working together and having a successful relationship with each other:
Getting young people together will help to break down the barriers between them.
It takes a long time to break down prejudices.
5. if a substance breaks down, or something breaks it down, it changes as a result of a chemical process
break something ↔ down
Food is broken down in the stomach.
Bacteria are added to help break down the sewage.
6. to be unable to stop yourself crying, especially in public:
He broke down and cried.
She broke down in tears when she heard the news.
7. break something ↔ down to separate something into smaller parts so that it is easier to do or understand:
He showed us the whole dance, then broke it down so that we could learn it more easily.
The question can be broken down into two parts.
⇨ ↑breakdown
break for something phrasal verb
to suddenly run towards something, especially in order to escape from someone:
He broke for the door, but the guards got there before he did.
break in phrasal verb
1. to enter a building by using force, in order to steal something:
Thieves broke in and stole £10,000 worth of computer equipment. ⇨ ↑break-in
2. to interrupt someone when they are speaking
break in on
I didn’t want to break in on his telephone conversation.
break in with
Dad would occasionally break in with an amusing comment.
3. break something ↔ in to make new shoes or boots less stiff and more comfortable by wearing them:
I went for a walk to break in my new boots.
4. break somebody in to help a person get used to a certain way of behaving or working:
She’s quite new to the job, so we’re still breaking her in.
5. break something ↔ in to teach a young horse to carry people on its back:
We break the horses in when they’re about two years old.
break into something phrasal verb
1. to enter a building or car by using force, in order to steal something:
Someone broke into my car and stole the radio.
Her house was broken into last week.
2. to become involved in a new job or business activity:
She made an attempt to break into journalism.
It’s a profession that is very hard to break into.
Many British firms have failed in their attempts to break into the American market.
3. to start to spend money that you did not want to spend:
I don’t want to break into my savings unless I have to.
4. break into a run/trot etc to suddenly start running:
He broke into a run as he came round the corner.
5. break into a smile/a song/applause etc to suddenly start smiling, singing etc:
Her face broke into a smile.
The audience broke into loud applause.
break somebody of something phrasal verb
to make someone stop having a bad habit:
Try to break yourself of the habit of eating between meals.
break off phrasal verb
1. to suddenly stop talking:
She started to speak, then broke off while a waitress served us coffee.
He broke off in mid-sentence to shake hands with the new arrivals.
break something ↔ off
I broke off the conversation and answered the phone.
2. break something ↔ off to end a relationship:
She broke off their engagement only a few weeks before they were due to be married.
The US has broken off diplomatic relations with the regime.
3. if something breaks off, or if you break it off, it comes loose and is no longer attached to something else:
One of the car’s wing mirrors had broken off.
break something ↔ off
He broke off a piece of bread.
break out phrasal verb
1. if something unpleasant such as a fire, fight, or war breaks out, it starts to happen:
I was still living in London when the war broke out.
Does everyone know what to do if a fire breaks out?
Fighting broke out between demonstrators and the police. ⇨ ↑outbreak
2. to escape from a prison
break out of
Three men have broken out of a top-security jail. ⇨ ↑breakout
3. to change the way you live because you feel bored
break out of
She felt the need to break out of her daily routine.
4. break out in spots/a rash/a sweat etc if you break out in spots etc, they appear on your skin:
I broke out in a painful rash.
My whole body broke out in a sweat.
break through phrasal verb
1. break through (something) to manage to get past or through something that is in your way:
Several demonstrators broke through the barriers despite warnings from the police.
After hours of fierce fighting, rebels broke through and captured the capital.
2. break through (something) if the sun breaks through, you can see it when you could not see it before because there were clouds:
The sun broke through at around lunch time.
The sun soon broke through the mist.
3. to manage to do something successfully when there is a difficulty that is preventing you:
He’s a very talented young actor who’s just ready to break through.
break through into
It is possible that at this election some of the minority parties might succeed in breaking through into parliament.
⇨ ↑breakthrough
break up phrasal verb
1. if something breaks up, or if you break it up, it breaks into a lot of small pieces:
It seems that the plane just broke up in the air.
break something ↔ up
Use a fork to break up the soil.
2. break something ↔ up to separate something into several smaller parts:
There are plans to break the company up into several smaller independent companies.
You need a few trees and bushes to break up the lawn.
3. break something ↔ up to stop a fight:
Three policemen were needed to break up the fight.
4. break something ↔ up to make people leave a place where they have been meeting or protesting:
Government soldiers broke up the demonstration.
Police moved in to break up the meeting.
5. if a marriage, group of people, or relationship breaks up, the people in it separate and do not live or work together any more:
He lost his job and his marriage broke up.
The couple broke up last year.
Many bands break up because of personality clashes between the musicians.
break up with
Has Sam really broken up with Lucy? ⇨ ↑breakup
6. if a meeting or party breaks up, people start to leave:
The party didn’t break up until after midnight.
The meeting broke up without any agreement.
7. British English when a school breaks up, it closes for a holiday:
School breaks up next week.
break up for
When do you break up for Easter?
8. break somebody up American English informal to make someone laugh by saying or doing something funny:
He breaks me up!
break with somebody/something phrasal verb
1. to leave a group of people or an organization, especially because you have had a disagreement with them:
She had broken with her family years ago.
They broke with the Communist Party and set up a new party.
2. break with tradition/the past to stop following old customs and do something in a completely different way:
Now is the time to break with the past.
His work broke with tradition in many ways.