breach

C1 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /bɹiːtʃ/ See IPA manual

Freq #5832

Meanings

1

noun
An act of breaking a law, rule, agreement, or promise.

Sharing the documents was a serious breach of contract.
2

verb
To break a law, rule, or agreement.

Your actions clearly breached the rules we had agreed on.
3

noun
A gap or hole made by breaking through something, such as a wall.

The flood opened a breach in the embankment.
4

noun
A serious break in a friendly relationship between people or groups.

A breach opened up between the two old friends that was never repaired.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 verb · to break a law, rule, or... break

3 noun · a gap or hole made by... break fissure rupture

4 noun · a serious break in a... breakfalling outrift rupture severance

More gap

Word family

Forms breachedbreachesbreaching

Derived forms breachablebreacherbreachfulbreachlessbreachycyberbreachfaithbreachgrithbreachmegabreachoathbreachprebreachspousebreach

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

partial breach
a failure to fulfill part of a contract that does not destroy its overall value

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Middle English breche, from Old English bryċe (“fracture, breach”) and brǣċ (“breach, breaking, destruction”), from Proto-West Germanic *bruki, from Proto-Germanic *brukiz (“breach, fissure”) and *brēkō (“breaking”).

breche Middle English bryċe Old English *bruki Proto-West Germanic *brukiz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# breach

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /bɹiːtʃ/
**Frequency rank:** 5832

## Meanings
1. An act of breaking a law, rule, agreement, or promise.
2. To break a law, rule, or agreement.
3. A gap or hole made by breaking through something, such as a wall.
4. A serious break in a friendly relationship between people or groups.

## Examples
- Sharing the documents was a serious breach of contract.
- Your actions clearly breached the rules we had agreed on.
- The flood opened a breach in the embankment.
- A breach opened up between the two old friends that was never repaired.

## Synonyms
- break
- gap
- rift
- rupture

## Derived Forms
- breachable
- breacher
- breachful
- breachless
- breachy
- cyberbreach
- faithbreach
- grithbreach
- megabreach
- oathbreach
- prebreach
- spousebreach

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: breche
- Root: bryċe
- Root: *bruki
- Root: *brukiz

## Etymology
From Middle English breche, from Old English bryċe (“fracture, breach”) and brǣċ (“breach, breaking, destruction”), from Proto-West Germanic *bruki, from Proto-Germanic *brukiz (“breach, fissure”) and *brēkō (“breaking”).

## AI Etymology
Breach is from Middle English breche, from Old English bryċe (“fracture, breach”) and brǣċ (“breach, breaking, destruction”), from Proto-West Germanic *bruki, from Proto-Germanic *brukiz (“breach, fissure”) and *brēkō (“breaking”). Important recorded forms include breche (Middle English), bryċe (Old English), *bruki (Proto-West Germanic), and *brukiz (Proto-Germanic). Current senses include an act of breaking a law, rule, agreement, or promise, to break a law, rule, or agreement, and a gap or hole made by breaking through something, such as a wall. The wider family includes derived forms such as breachable, breacher, breachful, breachless, and breachy.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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