the breaks

Idioms  

1. Pieces of luck, turns of events, as in No matter how well he pitches, the team always makes fielding errors—that's the breaks, I guess, or There's not much you can do if the breaks are against you. In the singular and modified forms, this term becomes. In the plural form, only the context determines its favorable or unfavorable meaning. [Slang; early 1900s] Also see tough break.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

the breaks

In some cases, the breaks interrupted the flow of the game just as a team was starting to take control.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

Instead, the breaks clustered inside genes controlled by super-enhancers.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 2, 2026

While many coaches at the World Cup have, like Tuchel, seen the usefulness of the breaks, even if they still don't like the idea of them, fans remain unconvinced.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

Most of the breaks were repaired within 24 hours, and the neurons continued functioning normally.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 21, 2026

From their high vantage point the village looked like a collection of toy houses in the great slanting shafts of sunlight stretching to earth in the breaks between clouds.

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling