(broke /brəʊk; NAmE broʊk/, broken /ˈbrəʊkən; NAmE ˈbroʊkən/) [transitive] to do sth that is against the law; to not do what you have agreed or promised to do违法；背弃◆The group has been accused of breaking accounting rules.集团一直被指控违反会计规则。◆They have broken the contract.他们已违反合同。to end a dispute or difficult situation, often by using strong action强行终止◆The company broke the strike by getting managers to work in the factory.公司通过让经理到工厂工作的方式终止了罢工。to reach a higher level or standard than has been done before突破◆A number of companies have broken $100 million in sales.许多公司的销售额已突破 1 亿元。  ➡  record-breaking (especially NAmE) to exchange a piece of paper money for coins将（钱）换开◆Can you break a twenty-dollar bill?你能换开这张二十元的钞票吗？ ●break ˈeven
(Finance 金融) if a company or a piece of business breaks even, it earns just enough money to pay for its costs收支相抵；盈亏平衡◆The company expects to break even by the end of 2006.公司希望 2006 年底达到收支平衡。  ➡  break-even ●ˌbreak ˈground (especially NAmE)
(Property 房地产) when you break ground on a new building or the building breaks ground, you start building it.破土动工◆The company will break ground on the plant by August 1 and begin production by February 1.公司将于 8 月 1 日破土动工兴建工厂，2 月 1 日开始投产。●ˌbreak new ˈgroundto make a new discovery or do sth that has not been done before开拓进取；开辟新天地  ➡  groundbreaking ●ˌmake or ˈbreak sb/sthto be the thing that makes sb/sth either a success or a failure使（某人或某事）要么成功，要么失败◆Transport costs can make or break a business.运输成本能决定一宗生意的成败。◆The demand for higher pay became the make-or-break issue in the talks.加薪要求是会谈中成败攸关的议题。 ●ˌbreak aˈbove/beˈlow sthto become slightly higher or lower than a particular figure or level略高于或低于（某数字或水平）◆The euro failed to break above its $1.82 high of the day before.欧元未能突破前一天 1.82 美元高点。●ˌbreak ˈdown(about a machine or a vehicle) to stop working because of a fault（指机器或车辆）出故障，坏掉◆The telephone system has broken down.电话系统已经瘫痪了。to fail失败◆The partnership between the firms is breaking down.公司间的合作失败了。  ➡  breakdown ●ˌbreak ˈdown ●ˌbreak sth ˈdownto separate into parts that are easier to analyse; to divide sth into parts in order to make it easier to analyse or to do划分成部分（以便分析）；对…进行分类◆Each task is broken down into step-by-step procedures.每项任务细分为一步一步的程序。◆Her approach to management breaks down into four principles.她的管理方式可以细分为四项原则。  ➡  breakdown ●ˌbreak ˈinto sthto start to operate in a particular area of business（在某一业务领域）开始营运◆We're trying to break into the Japanese market.我们正努力开辟日本市场。to reach a particular level of success获得某种程度的成功◆The company should break into profit for the first time this year.公司今年应当首次出现赢利。●ˌbreak sth ˈoffto end sth suddenly突然终止◆The company has broken off merger talks.公司突然终止合并谈判。●ˌbreak ˈthrough sthto succeed in going beyond a particular level; to succeed in dealing with a difficult problem获得突破性成就；战胜◆The firm's income has broken through the $10 million barrier.公司的收入已突破 1000 万元的大关。●ˌbreak ˈup (into sth) ●ˌbreak sth ˈup (into sth)to be divided into smaller parts; to divide sth in this way拆开；打散◆Tyco plans to break up into smaller companies.泰科计划分拆为较小的公司。◆The company will be broken up or sold.公司将被分拆或出售。  ➡  break-up