Breton

¹ American  

[bruh-tawn] / brəˈtɔn /

noun

1. André 1896–1966, French poet, essayist, and critic.

2. Jules Adolphe 1827–1906, French painter.

---

Breton ² American  

[bret-n, bruh-tawn] / ˈbrɛt n, brəˈtɔn /

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Brittany.

2. Also called Armorican.  Also called Armoric.  the Celtic language of Brittany.

3. (often lowercase) a round hat for women, with a flat crown and a turned-up brim.

---

adjective

1. pertaining to Brittany, the Bretons, or their language.

Breton ¹ British  

/ ˈbrɛtən, brətɔ̃ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Brittany, its people, or their language

---

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Brittany, esp one who speaks the Breton language

2. the indigenous language of Brittany, belonging to the Brythonic subgroup of the Celtic family of languages

Breton ² British  

/ brətɔ̃ /

noun

1. André (ɑ̃dre). 1896–1966, French poet and art critic: founder and chief theorist of surrealism, publishing the first surrealist manifesto in 1924

---

Etymology

Origin of Breton

1815–20; < French breton; replacing Britain, Brit ( t ) on, Breton used for both this sense and the sense of Briton

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Breton

Eight rescue swimmers were deployed and pulled the two women from the water, Breton said in a video posted to X.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026

John and Phyllis Le Breton trusted their escaped soldier so much that they allowed him to read to their children and play with them, including their daughter Dulcie.

From BBC ● May 5, 2026

An investigation was launched in December after drones flew over the Île Longue naval base, which is home to France's nuclear ballistic submarines off the Breton town of Brest.

From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2026

A few weeks later, the US State Department announced sanctions on five individuals including former EU commissioner Thierry Breton.

From Barron's ● Feb. 20, 2026

Not this last citadel at the edge of the continent, this final German strongpoint on the Breton coast.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr