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breakneck

American  
[breyk-nek] / ˈbreɪkˌnɛk /

adjective

  1. reckless or dangerous, especially because of excessive speed; hazardous.

    He raced through the streets at breakneck speed.
breakneck British  
/ ˈbreɪkˌnɛk /

adjective

  1. (prenominal) (of speed, pace, etc) excessive and dangerous

"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

Etymology

Origin of breakneck

First recorded in 1555–65; break + neck

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“One Battle After Another” moves with breakneck speed, its 162 minutes going by in a flash.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 11, 2026

In the announcement, OpenAI cited a series of user metrics pointing to a breakneck pace of AI adoption.

From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026

When we visited the set on a recent freezing afternoon in Paju city, just north of Seoul, filming was moving at breakneck speed.

From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026

And if they had, it was quickly overshadowed by something else in our breakneck news cycle, like FBI director Kash Patel chugging beer with the gold medal–winning men’s hockey team.

From Slate • Feb. 25, 2026

It will be a story at the mercy of this new breakneck century.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.