breach 1 of 2

noun

ˈbrēch How to pronounce breach (audio)
Definition of breachnext
1
as in violation
a failure to uphold the requirements of law, duty, or obligation the president's deliberate misstatements were widely seen as a breach of the public trust

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2
as in crime
a breaking of a moral or legal code cheating on the exam was a serious breach of the military academy's honor code

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3
as in gap
an open space in a barrier (as a wall or hedge) the cat got out of the yard through a breach in the hedge

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breach

2 of 2

verb

as in to violate
to fail to keep a builder being sued by a homeowner for breaching a contract

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of breach
Noun
Williams argued that without a viable federal copyright claim, Hugo’s state-law claims involving breach of fiduciary duty and an incomplete accounting should also be dismissed, leaving him free to pursue those claims separately in state court. — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2026 Defense Undersecretary Emil Michael, a task force vice chair, will lead an effort to develop protocols for labs to tell the government about breaches, hacks and other cyber issues. — Ashley Gold, semafor.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Verb
That is down from 30% a year ago, but mortgage rates didn’t breach 7% until the final week of September, crossing a threshold that some experts say could make buyers who rely on mortgage loans hit pause. — Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2026 These young people have defied prohibitions on protest, breached draconian security clampdowns, and endured detentions to relentlessly question the government’s authority. — Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for breach
Recent Examples of Synonyms for breach
  1. violation
  2. crime
  3. gap
  4. violate
  5. infringement
  6. sin
  7. hole
  8. break
Noun
  • And unlike state authorities who can be sued for civil rights violations in state courts, federal law enforcement authorities are generally shielded from such lawsuits based on legal precedents.
    — Philip Wang, Time, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Chicago should provide workable loading zones, preserve first-offense warnings, and publicly report whether violations and crashes actually decline.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of violation
Noun
  • Xuan’s attorney, Mitchell Krems, previously noted his client had never been convicted of a crime.
    — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The frontrunner is Marine Le Pen, who has worked for years to make her far-right party, the National Rally, more electable while campaigning on immigration, crime, and denunciation of an out-of-touch political class.
    — Nicholas Bequelin, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of crime
Noun
  • The wealth gap has political stakes, too That sense of waiting for an opportunity has electoral relevance.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2026
  • After recent decreases in 2026/27 prices, the gap has closed, but prices for 2027/28 NY/ICE contracts have been trading at a discount to 2026/27 prices.
    — SJ Guest Editorial, Footwear News, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of gap
Verb
  • California is among the states that successfully sued, in part by arguing that turning over the data would violate state privacy laws.
    — SAFIYAH RIDDLE, Arkansas Online, 15 Oct. 2026
  • As noted recently by Deadline, other Chinese AI models continue to plunder IP, including MiniMax H3, which generated videos that violated studio brand safety standards 55% of the time when an image was used in a prompt.
    — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of violate
Noun
  • That followed a patent infringement suit brought by the biotech company Halozyme Therapeutics over its own subcutaneous drug delivery platform.
    — Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Our maisons handle trademark infringement in many countries very regularly, including China.
    — Laure Guilbault, Vogue, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of infringement
Noun
  • Formerly, Christians were taught that greed--that is, the immoderate pursuit and love of money--was a sin.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Per the official logline, in the final season, as the survivors race to bury their sins before rescue arrives and an old flame roars back into town with plans of her own.
    — Denise Petski, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of sin
Noun
  • His unit had shown holes in the secondary, ranking 131st in the country in pass defense.
    — Noah White, Miami Herald, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Joe Jackson ran for 159 yards and a touchdown, Avery Johnson threw for 203 yards and another score, and the Wildcats overcame a multitude of mistakes while rallying from an early 10-point hole to keep nearly two decades of dominance going.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of hole
Verb
  • At a time when the fourth wall between fan and wrestler had long collapsed, Satterley rarely broke character.
    — Rudy Chinchilla, NBC news, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Catch up on breaking news, exclusive interviews, political analysis, original reporting, and standout moments — all in one place, every week.
    — Washington Examiner, The Washington Examiner, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of break

Browse Nearby Words

brazens
breach
breached
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Cite this Entry

“Breach.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breach. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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