breakage

American  

[brey-kij] / ˈbreɪ kɪdʒ /

noun

1. the act of breaking; state of being broken.

2. the amount or quantity of things broken.

   There was a great deal of breakage in that shipment of glassware.

3. an allowance or compensation for the loss or damage of articles broken in transit or in use.

4. the money accrued by a racetrack from calculating the payoff to winning pari-mutuel bettors only in multiples of dimes for each dollar bet.

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breakage British  

/ ˈbreɪkɪdʒ /

noun

1. the act or result of breaking

2. the quantity or amount broken

   the total breakage was enormous

3. compensation or allowance for goods damaged while in use, transit, etc

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Other Word Forms

• rebreakage
  noun

Etymology

Origin of breakage

First recorded in 1805–15; break + -age

Example Sentences

Breakage becomes more of a problem as organisms get smaller.

From Scientific American • Jun. 18, 2018

Breakage becomes more of a problem as organisms get smaller.

From Scientific American • Jun. 18, 2018

Breakage during recovery pushed that total to more than 600.

From Washington Times • Jul. 17, 2014

Board Breakage So you came to Bali with two shortboards and a 10' gun-good job!

From Time Magazine Archive

Breakage is avoided from each bottle having an independent bearing, which prevents the upper bottles from either falling 219 or weighing down upon those below, and thereby crashing together.

From Facts About Champagne and Other Sparkling Wines by Vizetelly, Henry