What does "breach" mean?
A gap or opening made by breaking or battering, as in a wall, fortification or levee / embankment; the space between the parts of a solid body rent by violence.
Breach
/bɹiːtʃ/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A gap or opening made by breaking or battering, as in a wall, fortification or levee / embankment; the space between the parts of a solid body rent by violence.
- Grammar: breach is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: rupture, break, gap, rift.
- Useful contrasts: ceremonial covenant, civil order status, dutch woord.
- Usage evidence: Mr Smith is accused of breach of contract.
How to use "breach"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "breach" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "breach" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "breach" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "breach" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "breach" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "rupture" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "breach", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A gap or opening made by breaking or battering, as in a wall, fortification or levee / embankment; the space between the parts of a solid body rent by violence.
""Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; Or close the wall up with our English dead.""
- 2 a failure to perform some promised act or obligation wordnet
- 3 The act of breaking, in a figurative sense.
"But were the poet to make a total difression from his subject, and introduce a new actor, nowise connected with the personages, the imagination, feeling a breach in transition, would enter coldly into the new scene;"
- 4 a personal or social separation (as between opposing factions) wordnet
- 5 A breaking or infraction of a law, or of any obligation or tie; violation; non-fulfillment.
"breach of promise"
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 an opening (especially a gap in a dike or fortification) wordnet
- 7 A breaking up of amicable relations, a falling out.
"There's fallen between him and my lord / An unkind breach."
- 8 A difference in opinions, social class, etc. figuratively
"For London to have its own exclusive immigration policy would exacerbate the sense that immigration benefits only certain groups and disadvantages the rest. It would entrench the gap between London and the rest of the nation. And it would widen the breach between the public and the elite that has helped fuel anti-immigrant hostility."
- 9 A breaking of waters, as over a vessel or a coastal defence; the waters themselves.
"A clear breach is when the waves roll over the vessel without breaking. A clean breach is when everything on deck is swept away."
- 10 A breaking out upon; an assault.
"And Dauid was diſpleaſed, becauſe the Lord had made a breach vpon Uzza; wherefore that place is called Perez-Uzza, to this day."
- 11 A bruise; a wound. archaic
"An vncouth paine torments my grieued ſoule, And death arreſts the organe of my voyce. Who entring at the breach thy ſword hath made, Sackes euery vaine and artier of my heart, […]"
- 12 A hernia; a rupture. archaic
Verb
- 1 To make a breach in. transitive
"They breached the outer wall, but not the main one."
- 2 make an opening or gap in wordnet
- 3 To violate or break. transitive
""I therefore agree with the Court that the Government did breach its contract with petitioners in failing to approve, within 30 days of its receipt, the plan of exploration petitioners submitted.""
- 4 act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises wordnet
- 5 To break into a ship or into a coastal defence. transitive
"On this occasion, the damage was far more serious. The sea wall was breached completely for a distance of over 50 yd., and the gap had to be bridged by a temporary timber viaduct."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 To suffer a breach. intransitive
"Picard: We don't have time for this! The Pasteur’s core is going to breach!"
- 7 To leap out of the water. intransitive
"The fearless whale-fishermen now found themselves in the midst of the monsters; ... some ... came jumping into the light of day, head uppermost, exhibiting their entire bodies in the sun, and falling on their sides into the water with the weight of a hundred tons, and thus "breaching" with a crash that the thunder of a park of artillery could scarcely equal."
- 8 To charge, convict or take legal action against someone due to not meeting a legal obligation. informal, passive, transitive, usually
"[…]the Pre-Sentence Report states that: "He was breached by the probation officer within several months of the commencement of the Probation Order for failing to report as he relocated to another Province and did not report there as directed.[…]""
Proper Noun
- 1 A particular security exploit against HTTPS when using HTTP compression, based on the CRIME exploit.
Antonyms
Example
"Mr Smith is accused of breach of contract."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "breach"?
Common synonyms include: rupture, break, gap, rift, abysm, abyss.
How do you use "breach" in a sentence?
Mr Smith is accused of breach of contract.
How do you pronounce "breach"?
Pronounced /bɹiːtʃ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English breche, from Old English bryċe (“fracture, breach”) and brǣċ (“breach, breaking, destruction”), from Proto-West Germanic *bruki, from Proto-Germanic *brukiz (“breach, fissure”) and *brēkō (“breaking”).
Etymology 2
Short for browser reconnaissance and exfiltration via adaptive compression of hypertext, chosen to spell the word breach.