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Synonyms

breaking

1 American  
[brey-king] / ˈbreɪ kɪŋ /

adjective

  1. (of a news story) currently developing or having happened recently and being released for publication or airing, as on television or radio, in print, or on the internet.

    Our network aims to be your trusted source for breaking news, local weather, and sports.

  2. coming into being suddenly.

    When I awoke, it was breaking day over the eastern horizon.

  3. changing or collapsing suddenly.

    This is a photograph of a breaking wave in the subantarctic waters of the Southern Ocean.
breaking 2 American  
[brey-king] / ˈbreɪ kɪŋ /

noun

  1. Phonology. the change of a pure vowel to a diphthong, especially in certain environments, as, in Old English, the change of a vowel to a diphthong under the influence of a following consonant or combination of consonants, as the change of -a- to -ea- and of -e- to -eo- before preconsonantal r or l and before h, as in earm “arm” developed from arm, and eorthe “earth” from erthe.

breaking 3 American  
[brey-king] / ˈbreɪ kɪŋ /

noun

  1. break dancing.

breaking British  
/ ˈbreɪkɪŋ /

noun

  1. linguistics (in Old English, Old Norse, etc) the change of a vowel into a diphthong

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of breaking1

First recorded in 1930–35; break ( def. ) (in the sense “to release a news story for publication”) + -ing 2 ( def. )

Origin of breaking2

First recorded in 1870–75; translation of German Brechung; break, -ing 1

Origin of breaking3

First recorded in 1980–85; by ellipsis

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Mark Ballas posted a TikTok breaking out into dance for “when you get the last piece of smoked salmon at breakfast.”

From Salon

Having won only three points on her serve in the opening set, Paolini started the second set strongly, holding for the first time and then breaking to go 3-1 up.

From BBC

It has successfully retested the bull-flag breakout from early January near the round $20 level and is now breaking above a bear flag —bullish signal, as failed bearish setups often precede upside moves.

From Barron's

It took violence, punitive taxes, the Intolerable Acts and more to spur Americans to take the extraordinary step of breaking with Britain.

From The Wall Street Journal

Their chemical structure is built on extremely strong molecular bonds, allowing them to resist breaking down in the environment.

From Science Daily

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.