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

On Friday, the EFL charged Southampton with breaking two regulations.

From BBC • May 19, 2026

Read more: Microsoft and OpenAI aren’t breaking up.

From MarketWatch • May 18, 2026

Manzo was angry but oozed charisma, riding to events on horseback and often breaking into folkloric dance, clips of which went viral.

From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026

But lawmaker Inna Sovsun said the code would be breaking many of the commitments that Ukraine has made.

From Barron's • May 17, 2026

Katherine asked, breaking Jonah’s concentration and forcing him to slam his right foot down to the ground to keep from falling.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix