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

But when you're down there, you don't really get the luck in the breaks.

From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026

Along the way, he didn’t just study the breaks of the greens.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026

Before that, the length of the breaks in between working was purely based on vibes!

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 4, 2025

When Boulter connected, her power was too much for Lamens, but she could not consistently find her range, despite briefly threatening a comeback after rescuing one of the breaks in the opening set.

From BBC • Apr. 12, 2025

Hip-hop artists quoted him in lyrics, cut his speeches across the breaks, or flashed his likeness in their videos.

From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates