bro·ken /ˈbrokən/
 (a.)壞掉的,打破的,斷掉的(vbl.)break的過去分詞
 broken
 間斷
 Break v. t. [imp. broke (Obs. Brake); p. p. Broken (Obs. Broke); p. pr. & vb. n. Breaking.]
 1. To strain apart; to sever by fracture; to divide with violence; as, to break a rope or chain; to break a seal; to break an axle; to break rocks or coal; to break a lock.
 2. To lay open as by breaking; to divide; as, to break a package of goods.
 3. To lay open, as a purpose; to disclose, divulge, or communicate.
    Katharine, break thy mind to me.   --Shak.
 4. To infringe or violate, as an obligation, law, or promise.
  Out, out, hyena! these are thy wonted arts . . .
 To break all faith, all vows, deceive, betray.   --Milton
 5. To interrupt; to destroy the continuity of; to dissolve or terminate; as, to break silence; to break one's sleep; to break one's journey.
 Go, release them, Ariel;
 My charms I'll break, their senses I'll restore.   --Shak.
 6. To destroy the completeness of; to remove a part from; as, to break a set.
 7. To destroy the arrangement of; to throw into disorder; to pierce; as, the cavalry were not able to break the British squares.
 8. To shatter to pieces; to reduce to fragments.
    The victim broke in pieces the musical instruments with which he had solaced the hours of captivity.   --Prescott.
 9. To exchange for other money or currency of smaller denomination; as, to break a five dollar bill.
 10. To destroy the strength, firmness, or consistency of; as, to break flax.
 11. To weaken or impair, as health, spirit, or mind.
    An old man, broken with the storms of state.   --Shak.
 12. To diminish the force of; to lessen the shock of, as a fall or blow.
    I'll rather leap down first, and break your fall.   --Dryden.
 13. To impart, as news or information; to broach; -- with to, and often with a modified word implying some reserve; as, to break the news gently to the widow; to break a purpose cautiously to a friend.
 14. To tame; to reduce to subjection; to make tractable; to discipline; as, to break a horse to the harness or saddle. “To break a colt.”
    Why, then thou canst not break her to the lute?   --Shak.
 15. To destroy the financial credit of; to make bankrupt; to ruin.
 With arts like these rich Matho, when he speaks,
 Attracts all fees, and little lawyers breaks.   --Dryden.
 16. To destroy the official character and standing of; to cashier; to dismiss.
    I see a great officer broken.   --Swift.
 Note: With prepositions or adverbs: --
 To break down. (a) To crush; to overwhelm; as, to break down one's strength; to break down opposition. (b) To remove, or open a way through, by breaking; as, to break down a door or wall.
 To break in. (a) To force in; as, to break in a door. (b) To train; to discipline; as, a horse well broken in.
 To break of, to rid of; to cause to abandon; as, to break one of a habit.
 To break off. (a) To separate by breaking; as, to break off a twig. (b) To stop suddenly; to abandon. “Break off thy sins by righteousness.” --Dan. iv. 27.
 To break open, to open by breaking. “Open the door, or I will break it open.” --Shak.
 To break out, to take or force out by breaking; as, to break out a pane of glass.
 To break out a cargo, to unstow a cargo, so as to unload it easily.
 To break through. (a) To make an opening through, as, as by violence or the force of gravity; to pass violently through; as, to break through the enemy's lines; to break through the ice. (b) To disregard; as, to break through the ceremony.
 To break up. (a) To separate into parts; to plow (new or fallow ground). “Break up this capon.” --Shak.  “Break up your fallow ground.” --Jer. iv. 3.  (b) To dissolve; to put an end to. “Break up the court.” --Shak.
 To break (one) all up, to unsettle or disconcert completely; to upset. [Colloq.]
 Note: With an immediate object: --
 To break the back. (a) To dislocate the backbone; hence, to disable totally. (b) To get through the worst part of; as, to break the back of a difficult undertaking.
 To break bulk, to destroy the entirety of a load by removing a portion of it; to begin to unload; also, to transfer in detail, as from boats to cars.
 To break a code to discover a method to convert coded messages into the original understandable text.
 To break cover, to burst forth from a protecting concealment, as game when hunted.
 To break a deer or To break a stag, to cut it up and apportion the parts among those entitled to a share.
 To break fast, to partake of food after abstinence. See Breakfast.
 To break ground. (a) To open the earth as for planting; to commence excavation, as for building, siege operations, and the like; as, to break ground for a foundation, a canal, or a railroad. (b) Fig.: To begin to execute any plan. (c) Naut. To release the anchor from the bottom.
 To break the heart, to crush or overwhelm (one) with grief.
 To break a house Law, to remove or set aside with violence and a felonious intent any part of a house or of the fastenings provided to secure it.
 To break the ice, to get through first difficulties; to overcome obstacles and make a beginning; to introduce a subject.
 To break jail, to escape from confinement in jail, usually by forcible means.
 To break a jest, to utter a jest. “Patroclus . . . the livelong day breaks scurril jests.”  --Shak.
 To break joints, to lay or arrange bricks, shingles, etc., so that the joints in one course shall not coincide with those in the preceding course.
 To break a lance, to engage in a tilt or contest.
 To break the neck, to dislocate the joints of the neck.
 To break no squares, to create no trouble. [Obs.]
 To break a path, road, etc., to open a way through obstacles by force or labor.
 To break upon a wheel, to execute or torture, as a criminal by stretching him upon a wheel, and breaking his limbs with an iron bar; -- a mode of punishment formerly employed in some countries.
 To break wind, to give vent to wind from the anus.
 Syn: -- To dispart; rend; tear; shatter; batter; violate; infringe; demolish; destroy; burst; dislocate.
 Bro·ken a.
 1. Separated into parts or pieces by violence; divided into fragments; as, a broken chain or rope; a broken dish.
 2. Disconnected; not continuous; also, rough; uneven; as, a broken surface.
 3. Fractured; cracked; disunited; sundered; strained; apart; as, a broken reed; broken friendship.
 4. Made infirm or weak, by disease, age, or hardships.
    The one being who remembered him as he been before his mind was broken.   --G. Eliot.
 The broken soldier, kindly bade to stay,
 Sat by his fire, and talked the night away.   --Goldsmith.
 5. Subdued; humbled; contrite.
    The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.   --Ps. li. 17.
 6. Subjugated; trained for use, as a horse.
 7. Crushed and ruined as by something that destroys hope; blighted. “Her broken love and life.”
 8. Not carried into effect; not adhered to; violated; as, a broken promise, vow, or contract; a broken law.
 9. Ruined financially; incapable of redeeming promises made, or of paying debts incurred; as, a broken bank; a broken tradesman.
 10. Imperfectly spoken, as by a foreigner; as, broken English; imperfectly spoken on account of emotion; as, to say a few broken words at parting.
    Amidst the broken words and loud weeping of those grave senators.   --Macaulay.
 Broken ground. (a) Mil. Rough or uneven ground; as, the troops were retarded in their advance by broken ground. (b) Ground recently opened with the plow.
 Broken line Geom., the straight lines which join a number of given points taken in some specified order.
 Broken meat, fragments of meat or other food.
 Broken number, a fraction.
 Broken weather, unsettled weather.
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 broken
      adj 1: physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or
             split; or legally or emotionally destroyed; "a broken
             mirror"; "a broken tooth"; "a broken leg"; "his neck
             is broken"; "children from broken homes"; "a broken
             marriage"; "a broken heart" [ant: unbroken]
      2: not continuous in space, time, or sequence or varying
         abruptly; "broken lines of defense"; "a broken cable
         transmission"; "broken sleep"; "tear off the stub above
         the broken line"; "a broken note"; "broken sobs" [ant: unbroken]
      3: subdued or brought low in condition or status; "brought
         low"; "a broken man"; "his broken spirit" [syn: crushed,
          humbled, humiliated, low]
      4: (especially of promises or contracts) having been violated
         or disregarded; "broken (or unkept) promises"; "broken
         contracts" [syn: unkept] [ant: unbroken]
      5: tamed or trained to obey; "a horse broken to the saddle";
         "this old nag is well broken in" [syn: broken in]
      6: topographically very uneven; "broken terrain"; "rugged
         ground" [syn: rugged]
      7: imperfectly spoken or written; "broken English"
      8: thrown into a state of disarray or confusion; "troops
         fleeing in broken ranks"; "a confused mass of papers on
         the desk"; "the small disordered room"; "with everything
         so upset" [syn: confused, disordered, upset]
      9: weakened and infirm; "broken health resulting from
         alcoholism"
      10: destroyed financially; "the broken fortunes of the family"
          [syn: wiped out(p), impoverished]
      11: out of working order (`busted' is an informal substitute for
          `broken'); "a broken washing machine"; "the coke machine
          is broken"; "the coke machine is busted" [syn: busted]
      12: discontinuous; "broken clouds"; "broken sunshine"
      13: lacking a part or parts; "a broken set of encyclopedia"
 break
      n 1: some abrupt occurrence that interrupts; "the telephone is an
           annoying interruption"; "there was a break in the action
           when a player was hurt" [syn: interruption]
      2: an unexpected piece of good luck; "he finally got his big
         break" [syn: good luck, happy chance]
      3: (geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the
         displacement of one side with respect to the other; "they
         built it right over a geological fault" [syn: fault, geological
         fault, shift, fracture]
      4: a personal or social separation (as between opposing
         factions); "they hoped to avoid a break in relations"
         [syn: rupture, breach, severance, rift, falling
         out]
      5: a pause from doing something (as work); "we took a 10-minute
         break"; "he took time out to recuperate" [syn: respite,
         recess, time out]
      6: the act of breaking something; "the breakage was
         unavoidable" [syn: breakage, breaking]
      7: a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation
         of something [syn: pause, intermission, interruption,
          suspension]
      8: breaking of hard tissue such as bone; "it was a nasty
         fracture"; "the break seems to have been caused by a fall"
         [syn: fracture]
      9: the occurrence of breaking; "the break in the dam threatened
         the valley"
      10: the opening shot that scatters the balls in billiards or
          pool
      11: (tennis) a score consisting of winning a game when your
          opponent was serving; "he was up two breaks in the second
          set" [syn: break of serve]
      12: an act of delaying or interrupting the continuity; "it was
          presented without commercial breaks" [syn: interruption,
           disruption, gap]
      13: a sudden dash; "he made a break for the open door"
      14: any frame in which a bowler fails to make a strike or spare;
          "the break in the eighth frame cost him the match" [syn:
          open frame]
      15: an escape from jail; "the breakout was carefully planned"
          [syn: breakout, jailbreak, gaolbreak, prisonbreak,
           prison-breaking]
      v 1: terminate; "She interrupted her pregnancy"; "break a lucky
           streak"; "break the cycle of poverty" [syn: interrupt]
      2: become separated into pieces or fragments; "The figurine
         broke"; "The freshly baked loaf fell apart" [syn: separate,
          split up, fall apart, come apart]
      3: destroy the integrity of; usually by force; cause to
         separate into pieces or fragments; "He broke the glass
         plate"; "She broke the match"
      4: render inoperable or ineffective; "You broke the alarm clock
         when you took it apart!"
      5: ruin completely; "He busted my radio!" [syn: bust] [ant: repair]
      6: act in disregard of laws and rules; "offend all laws of
         humanity"; "violate the basic laws or human civilization";
         "break a law" [syn: transgress, offend, infract, violate,
          go against, breach]
      7: move away or escape suddenly; "The horses broke from the
         stable"; "Three inmates broke jail"; "Nobody can break
         out--this prison is high security" [syn: break out, break
         away]
      8: scatter or part; "The clouds broke after the heavy downpour"
      9: force out or release suddenly and often violently something
         pent up; "break into tears"; "erupt in anger" [syn: burst,
          erupt]
      10: prevent completion; "stop the project"; "break off the
          negociations" [syn: break off, discontinue, stop]
      11: enter someone's property in an unauthorized manner, usually
          with the intent to steal or commit a violent act;
          "Someone broke in while I was on vacation"; "They broke
          into my car and stole my radio!" [syn: break in]
      12: make submissive, obedient, or useful; "The horse was tough
          to break"; "I broke in the new intern" [syn: break in]
      13: fail to agree with; be in violation of; as of rules or
          patterns; "This sentence violates the rules of syntax"
          [syn: violate, go against] [ant: conform to]
      14: surpass in excellence; "She bettered her own record"; "break
          a record" [syn: better]
      15: make known to the public information that was previously
          known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a
          secret; "The auction house would not disclose the price
          at which the van Gogh had sold"; "The actress won't
          reveal how old she is"; "bring out the truth"; "he broke
          the news to her" [syn: disclose, let on, bring out,
           reveal, discover, expose, divulge, impart, give
          away, let out]
      16: come into being; "light broke over the horizon"; "Voices
          broke in the air"
      17: stop operating or functioning; "The engine finally went";
          "The car died on the road"; "The bus we travelled in
          broke down on the way to town"; "The coffee maker broke";
          "The engine failed on the way to town"; "her eyesight
          went after the accident" [syn: fail, go bad, give
          way, die, give out, conk out, go, break down]
      18: interrupt a continued activity; "She had broken with the
          traditional patterns" [syn: break away]
      19: make a rupture in the ranks of the enemy or one's own by
          quitting or fleeing; "The ranks broke"
      20: curl over and fall apart in surf or foam, of waves; "The
          surf broke"
      21: lessen in force or effect; "soften a shock"; "break a fall"
          [syn: dampen, damp, soften, weaken]
      22: be broken in; "If the new teacher won't break, we'll add
          some stress"
      23: come to an end; "The heat wave finally broke yesterday"
      24: vary or interrupt a uniformity or continuity; "The flat
          plain was broken by tall mesas"
      25: cause to give up a habit; "She finally broke herself of
          smoking cigarettes"
      26: give up; "break cigarette smoking"
      27: come forth or begin from a state of latency; "The first
          winter storm broke over New York"
      28: happen or take place; "Things have been breaking pretty well
          for us in the past few months"
      29: cause the failure or ruin of; "His peccadilloes finally
          broke his marriage"; "This play will either make or break
          the playwright" [ant: make]
      30: invalidate by judicial action; "The will was broken"
      31: discontinue an association or relation; go different ways;
          "The business partners broke over a tax question"; "The
          couple separated after 25 years of marriage"; "My friend
          and I split up" [syn: separate, part, split up, split,
           break up]
      32: assign to a lower position; reduce in rank; "She was demoted
          because she always speaks up"; "He was broken down to
          Sargeant" [syn: demote, bump, relegate, kick
          downstairs] [ant: promote]
      33: reduce to bankruptcy; "My daughter's fancy wedding is going
          to break me!"; "The slump in the financial markets
          smashed him" [syn: bankrupt, ruin, smash]
      34: change directions suddenly
      35: emerge from the surface of a body of water; "The whales
          broke"
      36: break down, literally or metaphorically; "The wall
          collapsed"; "The business collapsed"; "The dam broke";
          "The roof collapsed"; "The wall gave in"; "The roof
          finally gave under the weight of the ice" [syn: collapse,
           fall in, cave in, give, give way, founder]
      37: do a break dance; "Kids were break-dancing at the street
          corner" [syn: break dance, break-dance]
      38: exchange for smaller units of money; "I had to break a $100
          bill just to buy the candy"
      39: destroy the completeness of a set of related items; "The
          book dealer would not break the set" [syn: break up]
      40: make the opening shot that scatters the balls
      41: separate from a clinch, in boxing; "The referee broke the
          boxers"
      42: go to pieces; "The lawn mower finally broke"; "The gears
          wore out"; "The old chair finally fell apart completely"
          [syn: wear, wear out, bust, fall apart]
      43: break a piece from a whole; "break a branch from a tree"
          [syn: break off, snap off]
      44: become punctured or penetrated; "The skin broke"
      45: pierce or penetrate; "The blade broke her skin"
      46: be released or become known; of news; "News of her death
          broke in the morning" [syn: get out, get around]
      47: cease an action temporarily; "We pause for station
          identification"; "let's break for lunch" [syn: pause, intermit]
      48: interrupt the flow of current in; "break a circuit"
      49: undergo breaking; "The simple vowels broke in many Germanic
          languages"
      50: find a flaw in; "break an alibi"; "break down a proof"
      51: find the solution or key to; "break the code"
      52: change suddenly from one tone quality or register to
          another; "Her voice broke to a whisper when she started
          to talk about her children"
      53: happen; "Report the news as it develops"; "These political
          movements recrudesce from time to time" [syn: recrudesce,
           develop]
      54: become fractured; break or crack on the surface only; "The
          glass cracked when it was heated" [syn: crack, check]
      55: of the male voice in puberty; "his voice is breaking--he
          should no longer sing in the choir"
      56: fall sharply; "stock prices broke"
      57: fracture a bone of; "I broke my foot while playing hockey"
          [syn: fracture]
      58: diminish or discontinue abruptly; "The patient's fever broke
          last night"
      59: weaken or destroy in spirit or body; "His resistance was
          broken"; "a man broken by the terrible experience of
          near-death"
      [also: broken, broke]
 broken
      See break