breaking

¹

[ brey-king ]

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

[ brey-king ]

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

[ brey-king ]

noun

1. break dancing.

breaking

/ ˈbreɪkɪŋ /

noun

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

Word History and Origins

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of breaking¹

C19: translation of German Brechung

Example Sentences

She paid a visit to a dance studio in Washington that specialized in breaking — better known as break dancing to anyone who remembers the 1980s or simply breakin’ to many participants — and it didn’t take long before mother and son were hooked.

From Washington Post

Within the breaking community, there have always been factions focused on the art and the performance, and others who thrive on battles and competition.

From Washington Post

As the children skipped over the breaking waves with their grandparents, things almost felt normal again, Shannon said.

From Washington Post

The team was originally formed to produce breaking news for Snapchat’s Discover platform for publishers.

From Digiday

Rather than being seen as a threat to research careers, leading organizations in pharma and chemicals are demonstrating that digital provides new opportunities for collaboration and the breaking down of silos.

From MIT Technology Review

“We saw his background and he was a Bronx guy and we started breaking the case,” Boyce says.

From The Daily Beast

Breaking the will of ISIS, the military argues, is not a statistic.

From The Daily Beast

Against this backdrop, Paul breaking bread with Sharpton may be too much for Republican primary voters to watch or stomach.

From The Daily Beast

He said,  “I am breaking my heart over this story, and cannot bear to finish it.”

From The Daily Beast

It was so potent, given all the ways the world is breaking many people, his people, down.

From The Daily Beast

Strive to speak or sing fluently without breaking the quality of tone used.

From Project Gutenberg

Say that my anger has no bounds—that my heart is breaking—will break and kill me, if he persists in his ingratitude and cruelty.

From Project Gutenberg

The gigantic pylon, its shoulders breaking the sky four-square far overhead, seemed the prodigious portal of another world.

From Project Gutenberg

He swam with her upon the summit of the breaking Wave, lifted upon its crest, swept onward irresistibly.

From Project Gutenberg

The red flashes were breaking out like a bunch of firecrackers, and with pretty much the same sound.

From Project Gutenberg