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

The town of 30,000 reached a breaking point.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 23, 2026

Nvidia is reportedly shelving its gaming GPU release plans for 2026 due to the ongoing memory-chip shortage, breaking a 30-year tradition of yearly releases.

From MarketWatch • May 23, 2026

The U.S. government is focused on breaking the Chinese near-monoply in rare earth production and processing.

From Barron's • May 22, 2026

The company said the service, which begins Saturday, will deliver “hard news, breaking headlines, and fact-driven reporting to affiliates across the country.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026

The booted man reared up, almost breaking the tackler’s grip.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix