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

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

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026

Just take a break, have fun, and take the breaks we used to take when we used to watch those TV shows in the ’90s.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2026

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

"It was a weird match with all the breaks and everything, but I wanted to be composed and really focused and I'm glad that I did that," Swiatek said.

From BBC • Mar. 13, 2025

Down the walls were lines denoting the breaks in the mirrors.

From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer