breaker C2+ Topic:Word Formation & Derivatives US /ˈbreɪkər/ UK /ˈbreɪkə/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun a wave breaking into foam on the shore; one that breaks something A huge breaker crashed over the bow of the little boat. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a wave breaking into foam... wavebillowsurgecomberroller Word family Forms breakers Related forms breakbreakagebreakwater Etymology AI details From break (Old English brecan, 'to break') + the agent suffix -er. The 'foaming wave' sense refers to a wave that breaks on the shore. brecan Old English *brekaną Proto-Germanic View etymology graph -> Topics Word Formation & Derivatives General Vocabulary External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # breaker **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈbreɪkər/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈbreɪkə/ ## Meanings 1. a wave breaking into foam on the shore; one that breaks something ## Examples - A huge breaker crashed over the bow of the little boat. ## Synonyms - wave - billow - surge - comber - roller ## Related Forms - break - breakage - breakwater ## Roots and Affixes - Root: brecan - Root: *brekaną ## Etymology From break (Old English brecan, 'to break') + the agent suffix -er. The 'foaming wave' sense refers to a wave that breaks on the shore. ## AI Etymology Breaker comes from break (Old English brecan, 'to break') + the agent suffix -er. The 'foaming wave' sense refers to a wave that breaks on the shore. The historical trail runs through brecan in Old English and *brekaną in Proto-Germanic. Morphologically, breaker is transparent: it draws on break (Old English brecan, 'to break') + the agent suffix -er. Used as a noun, breaker now means "a wave breaking into foam on the shore; one that breaks something", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in related forms such as break, breakage, and breakwater. The modern word remains analyzable through its parts, which makes the semantic connection unusually direct. ## Topics - Word Formation & Derivatives - General Vocabulary markdown