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 cover, to burst forth from a protecting concealment, as game when hunted. — To break a deer or 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 break 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.

BREAK
Break, v. i.

1. To come apart or divide into two or more pieces, usually with suddenness and violence; to part; to burst asunder.

2. To open spontaneously, or by pressure from within, as a bubble, a tumor, a seed vessel, a bag. Else the bottle break, and the wine runneth out. Math. ix. 17.

3. To burst forth; to make its way; to come to view; to appear; to
dawn.
The day begins to break, and night is fied. Shak.
And from the turf a fountain broke, and gurgled at our feet.
Wordswoorth.

4. To burst forth violently, as a storm. The clouds are still above; and, while I speak, A second deluge o'er our head may break. Shak.

5. To open up. to be scattered; t be dissipated; as, the clouds are breaking. At length the darkness begins to break. Macawlay.