breach

1 of 2

noun

1
: infraction or violation of a law, obligation, tie, or standard
a breach of trust
sued them for breach of contract
2
a
: a broken, ruptured, or torn condition or area
a breach of the skin
the leak was a major security breach
b
: a gap (as in a wall) made by battering
fixing a breach in the fence
once more unto the breach, dear friends, … or close the wall up with our English deadShakespeare
3
a
: a break in accustomed friendly relations
caused a breach between the two countries
b
: a temporary gap in continuity : hiatus
a breach of routine
4
: a leap especially of a whale out of water

breach

2 of 2

verb

breached; breaching; breaches

transitive verb

1
: to make a gap in by battering : to make a breach (see breach entry 1 sense 2b) in
breached the castle wall
2
: break, violate
breach an agreement

intransitive verb

: to leap out of water
a whale breaching

Did you know?

Into the breech or the breach?

If you are about to provide some much-needed assistance in a situation do you get ready to step (or leap, or jump) into the breach or the breech? The former. The sense of breach this expression applies to is “a gap (as in a wall) made by battering.” Breech, on the other hand, refers most often to a part of a rifle (near the rear of the barrel), the buttocks, or short pants which cover the hips and thighs (this sense is always found used in the plural, breeches). You may, if you are in a state of undress, step into your breeches before you step into the breach, but you would never step into your breaches before stepping into the breech.

Examples of breach in a Sentence

Noun This is clearly a breach of the treaty. Many people consider her decision to be a breach of trust. The judge ruled that the doctor's actions were in breach of her contractual duty. Verb He claims that the city breached an agreement by selling the property. Is he going to breach his contract? The army breached the castle wall.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Before the breach by gangs, the overcrowded facility had 3,696 prisoners, according to the U.N. political office in Port-au-Prince. Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 3 Mar. 2024 The House of Representatives impeached the sitting cabinet secretary on February 13 for his willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law and his breach of the public trust. Dan Stein, National Review, 1 Mar. 2024 No further details were provided about the timing of these breaches, and the message was reportedly deleted without explanation. Amrita Khalid, The Verge, 1 Mar. 2024 Musk is suing for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and claims of unfair business practices, among other grievances. Rachel Metz, Fortune, 1 Mar. 2024 That was a reference to the Premier League charging Everton with a second PSR breach along with Nottingham Forest in January. Sammy Mncwabe, CNN, 26 Feb. 2024 Security breaches that made the news in 2023 served as a reminder of the importance of knowing and having oversight over every single application in your portfolio. Ben Pippenger, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 The Ohio Lottery has not provided detailed information about the security breach and who may be behind it. Amanda Garrett, The Enquirer, 23 Feb. 2024 My colleague Louis Sahagún reports that the toll has included a breach of the Los Angeles Aqueduct that occurred last year, as well as damage to systems designed to control dust on the dry bed of Owens Lake. Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2024
Verb
Assange has been held at London's high-security Belmarsh Prison since he was removed from the Ecuadorian Embassy on April 11, 2019, for breaching bail conditions. Landon Mion, Fox News, 3 Mar. 2024 Elon Musk has sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman for breaching the AI company’s founding agreement. Alexandra Sternlicht, Fortune, 1 Mar. 2024 The whole of 2023 breached the 1.5ºC temperature threshold set down in the Paris Agreement and the US is seeing extreme events like never before. María Mendiluce, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 During the January 2023 storms, nearly a dozen earthen embankments along the Cosumnes River, near Sacramento, breached, causing flooding that resulted in three deaths. Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 29 Feb. 2024 The Russian invasion of Ukraine has broken down into a relatively predictable rhythm: Neither side has the capacity to launch massive attacks that breach enemy lines and that allow for rapid gains on the battlefield. Anatoly Kurmanaev, New York Times, 27 Feb. 2024 In Vermont, intense rainfall in July caused flash flooding that nearly breached a dam in Montpelier and left the streets flooded. Denise Chow, NBC News, 25 Feb. 2024 The panel also found the group’s former CFO Wilson Phillips should pay back $2 million for breaching his fiduciary duties as an executive. Emma Tucker, CNN, 23 Feb. 2024 Was the family with two kids breaching the ‘one child policy’? Patrick Frater, Variety, 17 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'breach.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English breche "act of breaking, opening in a wall, violation," probably in part continuing Old English brǣc "act of breaking" (derivative from base of brecan "to break"), in part borrowed from Anglo-French & continental Old French breche "break, gap," going back to Old Low Franconian *breka, derivative of *brekan "to break," going back to Germanic *brekan- — more at break entry 1

Verb

derivative of breach entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1547, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of breach was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near breach

Cite this Entry

“Breach.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/breach. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

breach

1 of 2 noun
1
: violation of a law, duty, or tie
a breach of trust
2
a
: a broken or torn condition or area
b
: a gap (as in a wall) made by breaking through
3
: a break in friendly relations
4
: a leap especially of a whale out of water

breach

2 of 2 verb
1
: to make a breach in
2
: break entry 1 sense 2, violate
breach an agreement
3
: to leap out of water

Legal Definition

breach

noun
1
a
: a violation in the performance of or a failure to perform an obligation created by a promise, duty, or law without excuse or justification
breach of duty
: a breach of a duty especially by a fiduciary (as an agent or corporate officer) in carrying out the functions of his or her position
breach of trust
: a breach by a trustee of the terms of a trust (as by stealing from or carelessly mishandling the funds)
breach of warranty
: a breach by a seller of the terms of a warranty (as by the failure of the goods to conform to the seller's description or by a defect in title)

Note: A seller may be liable for a breach of warranty even without any negligence or misconduct.

b
: failure without excuse or justification to fulfill one's obligations under a contract

called also breach of contract

compare repudiation
anticipatory breach
: a breach of contract that occurs as a result of a party's anticipatory repudiation of the contract
efficient breach
: breach of contract in economic theory in which it is more profitable for the breaching party to breach the contract and pay damages than to perform under the contract
material breach
: a breach of contract that is so substantial that it defeats the purpose of the parties in making the contract and gives the nonbreaching party the right to cancel the contract and sue for damages compare substantial performance at performance

Note: Whether a breach is material is a question of fact. Under the Restatement (Second) of Contracts, a material breach gives rise to the right to suspend performance but not to cancel the contract until there is a total breach.

partial breach
: a breach of contract in which the breaching party's nonperformance is minor and gives rise to the right to sue for damages but not to suspend performance or cancel the contract compare part performance at performance
total breach
: a breach of contract under the Restatement (Second) of Contracts that is so substantial that it gives rise to the right to cancel the contract and sue for damages
2
a
: a violation or disturbance of something (as a law or condition)
find both the State and the minor guilty of gross breaches of the rules of procedureIn re D.L.B., 429 N.E.2d 615 (1981)
a breach of security
especially : breach of the peace
b
: an act of breaking out
breach of prison
3
: the condition of having committed a breach of contract
used in the phrase in breach
a terminating party who is not in breach is entitled to expensesC&S/Sovran Corp. v. First Fed. Sav. Bank of Brunswick, 463 S.E.2d 892 (1995)
breach verb
breacher noun

More from Merriam-Webster on breach

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