brake
6 of 6archaic past tense of break
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Break and Brake: Remembering Which Is Which
It can be hard to apply these words correctly: they sound exactly the same, and their spellings aren't easily connected to their meanings. One of the pair, however, is quite limited in scope, and focusing on when to apply that one can be key.
When the subject is slowing or stopping movement, the word to use is brake. Brake is both a noun, as in "put on the brakes" and "took my foot off the brake," and a verb, as in "brake at the stop sign" and "I brake for moose." As a noun, it's also used before other nouns: "brake fluid," "brake pedal." As in these examples, the word is used in contexts relating to cars, bicycles, and other vehicles. It's also used figuratively, however, to talk about the slowing or stopping of activity, as in "putting the brakes on spending."
Break also functions as both a noun and a verb, and it's the word you want in all other contexts, such as when the topic is something separating into parts or pieces ("the plate will break if it falls," "break a leg," "a bad break"), being damaged to the point of no longer working ("break a watch"), failing to do what is promised ("break a promise"), or referring to a time during which activity stops ("take a break").
If you have difficulty keeping these straight and are inclined to think in pictures, you might want to imagine a foot nestled in the top of the k in brake, pressing that top line down onto the e, which isn't saying a thing, because the k has put the brakes on.
Synonyms
Examples of brake in a Sentence
James Raia, The Mercury News, 19 May 2024
The gaping tariff margin will drive up EV prices and put the brakes on efficiency-enhancing effects of global competition.
—Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for brake 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'brake.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Brake.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brake. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
brake
1 of 4 nounbrake
2 of 4 nounbrake
3 of 4 verbbrake
4 of 4 noun
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