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• break-even
  break-even

  adjective

  having income exactly equal to expenditure, thus showing neither profit nor loss.
• break even
  break even

  verb

  (intr, adverb) to attain a level of activity, as in commerce, or a point of operation, as in gambling, at which there is neither profit nor loss

break-even

American  

[breyk-ee-vuhn] / ˈbreɪkˈi vən /

Or breakeven

adjective

1. having income exactly equal to expenditure, thus showing neither profit nor loss.

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noun

1. break-even point.

2. Energy. the stage at which a fission or fusion reaction becomes self-sustaining.

break even British  

verb

1. (intr, adverb) to attain a level of activity, as in commerce, or a point of operation, as in gambling, at which there is neither profit nor loss

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noun

1. accounting

   1. the level of commercial activity at which the total cost and total revenue of a business enterprise are equal

   2. ( as modifier )

      breakeven prices

break even Idioms  

1. Neither gain nor lose in some venture, recoup the amount one invested. For example, If the dealer sells five cars a week, he'll break even. This expression probably came from one or another card game (some authorities say it was faro), where it meant to bet that a card would win and lose an equal number of times. It soon was transferred to balancing business gains and losses. Novelist Sinclair Lewis so used it in Our Mr. Wrenn (1914). The usage gave rise to the noun break-even point, for the amount of sales or production needed for a firm to recoup its investment. [Late 1800s]

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Etymology

Origin of break-even

An Americanism dating back to 1935–40

Example Sentences

By 2023 global dairy production had risen and prices had fallen back to 45p a litre, break-even point for most farmers.

From BBC • May 27, 2026

The NFL is currently a break-even proposition for CBS at the current price.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026

Though front-month U.S. crude futures peaked in early April, it wasn’t until this month that break-even rates reached their multiyear highs.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026

Once I factored that in, the break-even age for claiming at 64 shifted from just over 80 to about 86.

From MarketWatch • May 11, 2026

“Perhaps there’s a break-even point for all propellants.”

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam