breach
Americannoun
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the act or a result of breaking; a break or rupture.
Many districts were flooded by the river after a breach in an embankment upstream.
- Synonyms:
- fracture
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an infraction or violation, such as of a law, contract, trust, or promise.
If there is a breach of the warranty, we are not liable for damage.
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a gap made in a wall, fortification, line of soldiers, etc.; rift; fissure.
A breach in the castle walls gave the enemy an entrance.
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Digital Technology. the unauthorized acquisition, use, or disclosure of customers' or users' personal data.
There's no indication of a data breach affecting credit card information.
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a severance of friendly relations.
- Synonyms:
- dissension, separation, schism, rift, split, alienation
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the leap of a whale above the surface of the water.
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Archaic. the breaking of waves; the dashing of surf.
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Obsolete. wound.
verb (used with object)
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to make a rupture or opening in.
We need new ways to recover salmon without breaching the dams.
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to break or act contrary to (a law, promise, etc.).
The plaintiff alleges that the defendant has breached the terms of their license.
verb (used without object)
idioms
noun
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a crack, break, or rupture
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a breaking, infringement, or violation of a promise, obligation, etc
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any severance or separation
there was a breach between the two factions of the party
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a gap in an enemy's fortifications or line of defence created by bombardment or attack
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the act of a whale in breaking clear of the water
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the breaking of sea waves on a shore or rock
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an obsolete word for wound 1
verb
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(tr) to break through or make an opening, hole, or incursion in
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(tr) to break a promise, law, etc
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(intr) (of a whale) to break clear of the water
Usage
What does breach mean? A breach is a physical break or rupture, as in the hull of a ship. It also means a violation or infraction, as in a breach of trust. It can also be used as a verb referring to the action that leads to each of these things. Breach is often used in phrases like security breach, data breach, breach of trust, breach of etiquette, and breach of contract. Example: We view these ethical violations as an unforgivable breach of the public trust, and we call on the senator to resign.
Synonym Usage
Breach, infraction, violation, transgression all denote in some way the breaking of a rule or law or the upsetting of a normal and desired state. Breach is used infrequently in reference to laws or rules, more often in connection with desirable conditions or states of affairs: a breach of the peace, of good manners, of courtesy. Infraction most often refers to clearly formulated rules or laws: an infraction of the criminal code, of university regulations, of a labor contract. Violation, a stronger term than either of the preceding two, often suggests intentional, even forceful or aggressive, refusal to obey the law or to respect the rights of others: repeated violations of parking regulations; a human rights violation. Transgression, with its root sense of “a stepping across (of a boundary of some sort),” applies to any behavior that exceeds the limits imposed by a law, especially a moral law, a commandment, or an order; it often implies sinful behavior: a serious transgression of social customs, of God's commandments.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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breachsimple
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breachessimple
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have breachedperfect
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has breachedperfect
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am breachingprogressive
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are breachingprogressive
-
is breachingprogressive
-
have been breachingperfect progressive
-
has been breachingperfect progressive
Past
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breachedsimple
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had breachedperfect
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was breachingprogressive
-
were breachingprogressive
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had been breachingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of breach
First recorded before 1000; Middle English breche, Old English bræc “breaking”; see break ( def. )
Explanation
A breach is a violation of a law, duty, or promise. If you'd contracted to mow your neighbor's lawn and don't do it, he can sue you for breach of contract. Or he can mow the lawn himself. Breach traces back to the Old English verb: brecan, "to break," which is what breach really means — "a breaking of something." Breach of contract is a legal way of saying you broke a promise. If your great aunt Edna is a stickler for propriety, she may be horrified when you eat your meat with the salad fork, considering it a breach of good manners.
Vocabulary lists containing breach
100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
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Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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"The Odyssey," Vocabulary from Part 1 of the epic poem
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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.
See Examples For:
On Monday, Judge Patrick McGurgan said that, although the offending was not physical in nature, it was a "serious breach of trust".
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
OpenAI's account of the events also suggests the startup did not detect the breach early enough to address it or to warn Hugging Face.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Wolf said the breach was "very different" from the usual cyber attacks that Hugging Face often faces and that OpenAI quickly informed the company that its models were behind the hack.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Tenisha Warner, the actor’s wife and mother to his daughter, on Monday filed a civil complaint against her mother-in-law alleging breach of contract.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
While Mr. Griswold had been in a coma, there had been a security breach at the hospital, and people feared his life was still at risk, so he had been secretly relocated.
From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
AliExpress has to now pay the fine and present a plan to the EU by October 20 that includes what action it will take to tackle the breaches.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
Concern over the data collected by telematics and other companies has been driven by breaches, illegal sales and the growing ability to “re-identify” the source of the data even when it has been anonymized.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
While he is in the UK, the government has said he would be returned to prison if he breaches a series of strict licence conditions.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
“To the extent that we have to investigate breaches of national security, that’s something we will continue to do,” a Justice Department spokeswoman said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
The breaches threatened the lives of agents and created insidious doubts, with officials questioning each other’s loyalty.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
I must have only taken about 10 steps when the sea titan breached, its spotted skin flashing in the sunlight briefly before plunging beneath the waves.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
A law firm representing the company’s investors announced Tuesday that it had launched an inquiry into whether Immix Biopharma or members of its leadership team breached federal securities laws.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Lloyd's of London's former boss's close relationship with another director breached compliance rules, the insurance market has said after an internal investigation.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
It is still far below the highest levels reached at the beginning of the war, when prices breached $100 a barrel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
He slowed his digging rate, poking the soft clay gently until his fingers breached the tunnel wall.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
The fighting has sent energy prices soaring once more, with the benchmark oil futures contract breaching $100 per barrel for the first time since late May, when energy prices were on their way down.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
The EU this week announced it would fine Alphabet’s Google $1 billion for breaching digital competition rules—the latest in a series of penalties for American tech firms in recent years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
The EU can slap fines of up to 10 percent of a company's total global turnover for breaching the DMA.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
The club were fined £2.6m for breaching the regulations, though £1.7m of that can be written off if they continue to reduce expenditure and/or increase revenue by next summer.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
In his own way, he began moving around the fire, jumping up and to the side to imitate a whale breaching.
From "Touching Spirit Bear" by Ben Mikaelsen
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.
