Break or Breaks or The Break may refer to:

Time off from duties

Recess (break) Recess is a general term for a period in which a group of people are temporarily dismissed from their duties. In education, recess is the American and Australian term (known as ''break'' or ''playtime'' in the UK), where students have a mid ...

, time in which a group of people is temporarily dismissed from its duties *

Break (work) A break at work (or work-break) is a period of time during a shift in which an employee is allowed to take time off from their job. It is a type of downtime. There are different types of breaks, and depending on the length and the employer's p ...

, time off during a shift/recess **

Coffee break A break at work (or work-break) is a period of time during a shift in which an employee is allowed to take time off from their job. It is a type of downtime. There are different types of breaks, and depending on the length and the employer's p ...

, a short mid-morning rest period in business *

Annual leave Annual leave, also known as statutory leave, is a period of paid time off work granted by employers to employees to be used for whatever the employee wishes. Depending on the employer's policies, differing number of days may be offered, and th ...

(holiday/vacation), paid time off work

Time off from school

* Holiday break, a U.S. term for various

school holidays An academic year, or school year, is a period that schools, colleges and universities use to measure the duration of studies for a given educational level. Academic years are often divided into academic terms. Students attend classes and do rel ...

* Christmas break or ''Winter break'', a break in the winter, typically around Christmas and New Years *

Spring break Spring break is a vacation period at universities and schools that includes the Easter holiday, and takes place in early Northern Hemisphere spring. Introduced in the U.S. during the 1930s, spring break has been observed in Europe since t ...

, a recess in early spring at universities and schools in various countries in the northern hemisphere * Summer break, a typical long break in the summertime

People

Ted Breaks Edward Breaks (29 December 1919 – November 2000) was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League as a left back for Halifax Town. Life and career Breaks was born in 1919 in Halifax, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. ...

(1919–2000), English professional footballer *

Danny Breaks Danny Breaks (born Daniel Whiddett) is a British drum and bass DJ, record producer and record label owner. He is known for his experimental instrumental hip hop production, and early music career as the breakbeat hardcore artist Sonz of a Loo ...

(active 1990s–), British drum and bass DJ, record producer and record label owner *

Jim Breaks James Breaks (25 March 1940 – 25 December 2023) was an English professional wrestler. A holder of several of the Admiral-Lord Mountevans rules, Mountevans championships he regularly competed for these and in other matches on ITV1, ITV's wres ...

(1940–2023), English professional wrestler

Sport

* , the first shot meant to break the balls in cue sports, also a series of shots in snooker *

Breaking ball In baseball, a breaking ball is a pitch that does not travel straight as it approaches the batter; it will have sideways or downward motion on it, sometimes both (see slider). A breaking ball is not a specific pitch by that name, but is any ...

, a pitch that does not travel straight like a fastball as it approaches the batter *

Surf break A surf break (also break, shore break, or big wave break) is a permanent (or semi-permanent) obstruction such as a coral reef, rock (geology), rock, shoal, or headland that causes a Wind wave, wave to Wind wave#Wave breaking, break, forming a ...

, place where a wave collapses into surf *

Horse breaking Horse training refers to a variety of practices that teach horses to perform certain behaviors when commanded to do so by humans. Horses are trained to be manageable by humans for everyday care as well as for equestrian activities, ranging anyw ...

, the process of training a horse to be ridden * Break (tennis), to win a tennis game as the receiving player or team, thereby breaking serve

Technology

Computing

* Break condition, in

asynchronous serial communication Asynchronous serial communication is a form of serial communication in which the communicating endpoints' interfaces are not continuously synchronized by a common clock signal. Synchronization ( clock recovery) is done by data-embedded signal ...

Break key The Break key (or the symbol ⎊) of a computer keyboard refers to breaking a Telegraphy, telegraph circuit and originated with 19th century practice. In modern usage, the key has no well-defined purpose, but while this is the case, it can be use ...

, a special key on computer keyboards * break statement, a keyword in computer programming used to execute an early exit from a loop * Line break (computing), a special character signifying the end of a line of text * To break (or "crack") an encryption cipher, in

cryptanalysis Cryptanalysis (from the Greek ''kryptós'', "hidden", and ''analýein'', "to analyze") refers to the process of analyzing information systems in order to understand hidden aspects of the systems. Cryptanalysis is used to breach cryptographic se ...

Other technologies

Brake (carriage) A break or brake is an open horse-drawn carriage A carriage is a two- or four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle for passengers. In Europe they were a common mode of transport for the wealthy during the Roman Empire, and then again from around ...

, a type of horse-drawn carriage used in the 19th and early 20th centuries *

Break (locksmithing) This is a glossary of locksmithing terms. Glossary References External links

{{Locksmithing Wikipedia glossaries, Locksmithing Locksmithing Wikipedia glossarie ...

, a separation between pins of a lock *

Breakover angle Breakover angle or rampover angle is the maximum possible supplementary angle (usually expressed in degrees) that a vehicle, with at least one forward wheel and one rear wheel, can drive over without the Apex (geometry), apex of that angle touchi ...

, a maximum possible supplementary angle of terrain *

Paradelta Break The Paradelta Break is an Italian single-place paraglider that was designed and produced by Paradelta Parma of Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, ...

, an Italian paraglider design

Arts and media

Books

* ''The Break'' (Giovanni novel), 1957, by José Giovanni * ''The Break'' (Vermette novel), 2016, by Katherena Vermette * ''The Breaks'' (novel), 1983, by Richard Price

Film, television and theatre

break character Break or Breaks or The Break may refer to: Time off from duties * Recess (break), time in which a group of people is temporarily dismissed from its duties * Break (work), time off during a shift/recess ** Coffee break, a short mid-morning rest ...

(or "corpse"), to lose composure during comedic scenes * ''Break'' (2008 film), an American action film * ''Break'' (2014 film), also known as ''Nature Law'' * ''Break'' (2020 film), a British independent film * ''The Break'' (play), a 1962 play by Philip Albright * ''The Break'' (1963 film), a drama starring Tony Britton * ''The Break'' (1995 film), an American tennis film * ''The Break'', alternative name for the 1997 film '' A Further Gesture'' * ''The Break'', a 2003 TV film featuring

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a m ...

* ''The Break'', a short film shown at the 2016

Dublin International Film Festival The Dublin International Film Festival (DIFF; ) is an annual film festival that has been held in Dublin, Ireland, since 2003. History The Dublin International Film Festival was established in 2003. It was revived by Michael Dwyer (journalist), ...

* ''The Break'' (TV series), a 2016 Belgian crime drama, also known as ''La Trêve'' * ''

The Break with Michelle Wolf ''The Break with Michelle Wolf'' is an American television variety show starring Michelle Wolf that premiered on May 27, 2018, on Netflix. The series is executive produced by Wolf, Dan Powell, Christine Nangle, and Daniel Bodansky. Powell and Na ...

'', a 2018 Netflix series * ''The Breaks'' (1999 film), an American comedy * ''The Breaks'' (2016 film), an American television hip-hop drama ** ''The Breaks'' (TV series), a 2017 American drama and a continuation of the 2016 film * "Break", a 1995 episode of the British television series ''Bottom'' * Break (Transformers), a fictional character

Music

Break (music) In popular music, a break is an instrumental or percussion instrument, percussion section during a song derived from or related to stop-time – being a "break" from the main section (music), parts of the song or piece. A break is usually interp ...

, a percussion interlude or instrumental solo within a longer work of music *

Breakbeat Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that uses drum breaks, often sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as Florida breaks, hip-hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat ...

, a broad style of electronic or dance-oriented music

Albums

* ''Break'' (Enchant album), 1998 * ''Break'' (Mamoru Miyano album), 2009 * ''Break'' (One-Eyed Doll album), 2010 * ''Break'' (EP), 2006, by The Cinematics

Songs

* "Break", 1972, by

Aphrodite's Child Aphrodite's Child was a Greek rock and pop band formed in 1967, by Evangelos Papathanassiou, later known professionally as Vangelis (keyboards, flutes), Demis Roussos (bass, acoustic and electric guitar, vocals), Loukas Sideras (drums and v ...

* "The Breaks" (song), 1980, by Kurtis Blow * "Break" (1984), by Play Dead * "Break" (1996), by Staind from the album '' Tormented'' * "Break" (1998), by Fugazi from the album '' End Hits'' * "Break" (2002), by Jurassic 5 from the album '' Power in Numbers'' * "Break" (2006), by Republic of Loose from the album '' Aaagh!'' * "Break" (2006), by The Cinematics * "Break" (2008), by Alanis Morissette from the album ''

Flavors of Entanglement ''Flavors of Entanglement'' is the seventh studio album, fifth international release and last Maverick Records release by Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette. The album, which was originally set for an April release, came out on May 3 ...

'' * "Break" (Three Days Grace song) (2009) * "Break" (2013), by Hostyle Gospel from the album '' Desperation'' * "Break" (2015), by Katherine McPhee from the album ''

Hysteria Hysteria is a term used to mean ungovernable emotional excess and can refer to a temporary state of mind or emotion. In the nineteenth century, female hysteria was considered a diagnosable physical illness in women. It is assumed that the bas ...

'' * "Break" (2015), by No Devotion from the album '' Permanence'' * "Break" (Kero Kero Bonito song), 2016

Other media

* Break.com, a humor website

Other uses

* Big break (jargon), a circumstance which allows an actor or musician to "break into" the industry and achieve fame *

Bone fracture A bone fracture (abbreviated FRX or Fx, Fx, or #) is a medical condition in which there is a partial or complete break in the continuity of any bone in the body. In more severe cases, the bone may be broken into several fragments, known as a ''c ...

, a medical condition in which there is a break in the continuity of the bone *

Commercial break A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

, in television and radio *

Prison escape A prison escape (also referred to as a bust out, breakout, jailbreak, jail escape or prison break) is the act of an Prisoner, inmate leaving prison through unofficial or illegal ways. Normally, when this occurs, an effort is made on the part o ...

, the act of an inmate leaving prison through unofficial or illegal ways * Section break, in type setting * Break, an air combat maneuver; see Basic fighter maneuvers * Breaks, Virginia *

Psychotic break In psychopathology, psychosis is a condition in which a person is unable to distinguish, in their experience of life, between what is and is not real. Examples of psychotic symptoms are delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized or incoher ...

* The Breaks, named for an American topography that appears to "break away" from the Missouri River, located in Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument