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• break-in
  break-in

  noun

  an illegal entry into a home, car, office, etc.
• break in
  break in

  verb

  (sometimes foll by on) to interrupt

break-in

American  

[breyk-in] / ˈbreɪkˌɪn /

noun

• break-ins
  plural

1. an illegal entry into a home, car, office, etc.

2. break-in period.

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break in British  

verb

1. (sometimes foll by on) to interrupt

2. (intr) to enter a house, etc, illegally, esp by force

3. (tr) to accustom (a person or animal) to normal duties or practice

4. (tr) to use or wear (shoes, new equipment, etc) until comfortable or running smoothly

5. (tr) to bring (new land) under cultivation

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noun

1. 1. the illegal entering of a building, esp by thieves

   2. ( as modifier )

      the break-in plans

break in Idioms  

1. Enter by force, as in The thieves broke in through the back door . [Mid-1500s] Also see break into .

2. Also, break in on . Interrupt or disturb something unexpectedly, as in His assistant broke in with the bad news just as we were ready to sign the agreement , or He broke in on our private talks . [Mid-1600s]

3. Train or instruct someone in a new job or enterprise, as in Every semester she had to break in a new teaching assistant . [Late 1700s]

4. Loosen or soften with use, as in It takes a while to break in a pair of new shoes .

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• break-ins
  plural

Etymology

Origin of break-in

First recorded in 1855–60; noun use of verb phrase break in

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

break-in break in break-ins

The opposite of a guard dog: Golden retriever begs to play with intruder in San Diego break-in.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026

Then she saw the video of him pleading with the police when they first accused him of the break-in.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

Police were called shortly before 03:00 GMT on 29 April after the break-in on Moss Close in the village.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

The victim was Hugging Face, a provider of open-source AI tools; it discovered the break-in early last week.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

The tape of Nixon and his staff plotting to use the CIA to block the FBI’s investigation of the Watergate break-in proved to be the smoking gun prosecutors were looking for.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin

That’s initially where director Paul Lieberstein, a veteran of “The Office,” expected to be: “There’s the old L.A. Times building — that’s where I thought we were going,” he says during a break in filming.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

Napoli, who said in statement, external that "McTominay will rest for two weeks and then resume training", had expected the former Manchester United player to return to action after the international break in early October.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

Leroy, he said, had given him an early break in 2018 when he showed his work for the first time.

From Barron's ● Sep. 5, 2026

It’s still summer break in the U.S., so regular classes at the majority of schools and colleges are not in session yet, and those that are tend to observe the federal holiday.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026

“But one petition at a time. Next up is a petition to get a daily fifteen-minute break in the morning. You know, so our brains can refresh between classes.”

From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez

The house had been empty for some time and a number of break-ins eventually led to the downstairs windows being boarded up, which had not helped the atmosphere, Way said.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

San Francisco car break-ins dropped from 22,700 in 2022 to 1,764 so far in 2026.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

Former Home Secretary Yvette Cooper banned the group on advice from the police and security officials after an escalating spate of break-ins targeting Elbit, an Israeli-owned defence firm.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

In Madrid, Karim Benzema, Rodrygo and Dani Carvajal are among the football stars to have suffered break-ins at their homes in recent years.

From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026

Uncle Carlos was always uneasy about Nana living by herself in Garden Heights, especially since break-ins and robberies seem to happen more to older folks than anybody.

From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas

Related Words

• burglary
• robbery