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

---

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; see break, -ing ¹

Origin of breaking³

First recorded in 1980–85; by ellipsis

Example Sentences

Nike developed carbon fiber running shoes as part of its Breaking 2 project in 2016, an innovation credited for faster marathon times.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 27, 2026

"Breaking: We've updated tonight's Ichiro Replica Statue giveaway," it posted on social media along with an image of a figurine with a broken bat.

From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026

Breaking the encryption behind major cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether may be easier than previously thought, according to a blog post and new research paper from Google released Tuesday.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 31, 2026

Breaking out its revenue, Unity said it expects its Grow unit, which offers monetization and user acquisition tools, to bring in $352 million.

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

Breaking a song into “chunks” helps exercise children’s cognitive and analytical abilities to understand, compare, and contrast the different parts or phrases of a song.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin