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breaking

1
[ brey-king ]
/ ˈbreɪ kɪŋ /
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adjective
(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.
coming into being suddenly: When I awoke, it was breaking day over the eastern horizon.
changing or collapsing suddenly:This is a photograph of a breaking wave in the subantarctic waters of the Southern Ocean.
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Origin of breaking

1
First recorded in 1930–35; break (in the sense “to release a news story for publication”) + -ing2

Other definitions for breaking (2 of 3)

breaking2
[ brey-king ]
/ ˈbreɪ kɪŋ /

noun
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.
Also called vow·el frac·ture [vou-uhl frak-cher]. /ˈvaʊ əl ˌfræk tʃər/.

Origin of breaking

2
First recorded in 1870–75; translation of German Brechung; see break, -ing1

Other definitions for breaking (3 of 3)

breaking3
[ brey-king ]
/ ˈbreɪ kɪŋ /

noun

Origin of breaking

3
First recorded in 1980–85; by ellipsis
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use breaking in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for breaking

breaking
/ (ˈbreɪkɪŋ) /

noun
linguistics (in Old English, Old Norse, etc) the change of a vowel into a diphthong

Word Origin for breaking

C19: translation of German Brechung
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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