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 period in business * Annual leave (holiday/vacation), paid time off work

Time off from school

* Holiday break, a U.S. term for various school holidays * Christmas break or ''Winter break'', a break in the winter, typically around Christmas and New Years * Spring break, 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 (1919–2000), English professional footballer * Danny Breaks (active 1990s–), British drum and bass DJ, record producer and record label owner * Jim Breaks (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, a pitch that does not travel straight like a fastball as it approaches the batter * Surf break, place where a wave collapses into surf * Horse breaking, 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 * Break key, 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

Other technologies

* Brake (carriage), a type of horse-drawn carriage used in the 19th and early 20th centuries * Break (locksmithing), a separation between pins of a lock * Breakover angle, a maximum possible supplementary angle of terrain * Paradelta Break, 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

To break character (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 * ''The Break'', a short film shown at the 2016 Dublin International Film Festival * ''The Break'' (TV series), a 2016 Belgian crime drama, also known as ''La Trêve'' * '' The Break with Michelle Wolf'', 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), a percussion interlude or instrumental solo within a longer work of music * 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 * "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'' * "Break" (Three Days Grace song) (2009) * "Break" (2013), by Hostyle Gospel from the album '' Desperation'' * "Break" (2015), by Katherine McPhee from the album '' Hysteria'' * "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 medical condition in which there is a break in the continuity of the bone * Commercial break, in television and radio * Prison escape, 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 * The Breaks, named for an American topography that appears to "break away" from the Missouri River, located in Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument