See Also: breach(medicine)
Breach(law)
breach(dictionary)
Breach of Warranty(money)
Breach Of Contract(law)
Breach Of Contract:(law)
BREACH OF THE PEACE(law)
BREACH OF PRISON(law)
breach 2, verb(dictionary)
Breach of Contract(money)

breach (iou)



breach noun & verb. ME.

A. noun.
I. The action of breaking.
The physical act of breaking; fracture; breakage. ME-L17.
The breaking or neglect of (or of) a legal or moral bond or obligation; the infraction of (or of) someone's privileged rights. LME.
breach of confidence, breach of contract, breach of trust, etc. breach of faith: see FAITH noun. breach of promise the breaking of one's word, esp. of a promise to marry. breach of the peace public disturbance, or conduct likely to provoke one. in breach of so as to infringe or contravene.
Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost Receive such welcome..As honour, without breach of honour, may Make tender of to thy true worthiness. C. S. Forester To call out in that fashion was a grave breach of discipline. F. Raphael His manager's breach of the rationing laws.
An inroad into, an infringement upon. L16-M18.
A breaking of relations of (or of) union, continuity, etc.; esp. a separation, an estrangement, a quarrel. L16.
Shakespeare Othello There's fall'n between him and my lord An unkind breach. W. Blackstone By the breach and dissolution of..the relation itself.
The breaking of waves over a vessel or on a coast. E17.
The leaping of a whale clear out of the water. M19.
II. The product of breaking.
A portion of land broken up by the plough. obsolete exc. dial. ME.
A break or fissure; esp. a gap in a fortification made by artillery. LME.
stand in the breach bear the brunt of an attack. step into the breach fill someone's place or give help, esp. in a crisis.
S. Johnson The crew implore the liberty of repairing their breaches. M. Renault A great breach blasted in the walls of heaven.
Surf; a breaker. Usu. in pl. E16-E18.
An interval; a division marked by breaks or intervals. Only in L16.
A bay, a harbour. rare. Only in E17.
A state of severed relations or disagreement. L17.
R. Graves The breach with the Pope had been healed.
b. verb.
verb trans. Break through, make a gap in; fig. contravene, violate. M16.
W. S. Churchill He breached the ramparts with his cannon. I. Wallace I should not have breached security by leaving my briefcase unlocked.
verb intrans. Cause or make a breach; separate. L16-M17.
verb intrans. Of a whale: leap clear out of the water. M19.
breachy adjective (chiefly US) (of cattle) apt to break fences and get out of enclosures L18.