break-even

Or break·e·ven

[breyk-ee-vuhn]

adjective

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

noun

1. break-even point.

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

break even

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

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of break-even¹

An Americanism dating back to 1935–40

Idioms and Phrases

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]

Example Sentences

More than 50% of the cups were returned, which organizers say surpasses the “environmental break-even point” — meaning they were better for the environment than single-use cups.

From Los Angeles Times

It said it would need a "stepped approach" to catch up and achieve a "break-even position".

From BBC

And current oil prices sitting below the government’s break-even price of around $100 a barrel means that it will be running a deficit, said David Butter, a Middle East energy expert at Chatham House, a think tank in London.

From Los Angeles Times

"We are almost break-even in Armenia and that gives us strength to start expanding to other markets, like Uzbekistan."

From BBC

That single move could save Royal Mail £300m a year – putting it back on a break-even footing.

From BBC