Definition of 'broken'
2. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
A broken blue line means the course of a waterless valley.
3. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
You can use broken to
describe a marriage that has ended in divorce, or a home in which the
parents of the family are divorced, when you
think this is a
sad or
bad thing.
[disapproval] She spoke for the first time about the traumas of a broken marriage.
Children from broken homes are more likely to leave home before the age of 18.
4. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Video: pronunciation of
broken
Word Frequency
broken in British English
verb
1. the past participle of
break
adjective
7.
not functioning
a broken radio
11.
broken English
13.
18.
19. South Africa informal
drunk
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
brokenly (ˈbrokenly) adverb
Word Frequency
broken in American English
verb transitive, verb intransitive
adjective
see also
break7.
bankrupt
9.
not complete
a broken set of Shakespeare's works
11.
subdued and trained; tamed
12. Informal
demoted in rank
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
brokenly (ˈbrokenly)
adverb
brokenness (ˈbrokenness)
noun
Example sentences including
broken
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Trends of
broken
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In other languages
broken
British English: broken
/ˈbrəʊkən/ ADJECTIVE
A broken line is not continuous but has gaps in it.
...a broken blue line.
- American English: broken
- Arabic: مَكْسور
- Brazilian Portuguese: quebrado
- Chinese: 不连贯的
- Croatian: slomljen
- Czech: rozbitý
- Danish: knækket
- Dutch: gebroken
- European Spanish: discontinuo
- Finnish: rikkinäinen
- French: cassé
- German: zerbrochen
- Greek: σπασμένος
- Italian: interrotto
- Japanese: 壊れた
- Korean: 부서진
- Norwegian: ødelagt
- Polish: połamany
- European Portuguese: quebrado
- Romanian: întrerupt
- Russian: прерывистый
- Latin American Spanish: roto
- Swedish: trasig
- Thai: เส้นประ
- Turkish: kırık
- Ukrainian: зламаний
- Vietnamese: bị vỡ
Nearby words of
broken
Related terms of
broken
Source
Definition of broken from the
Collins English Dictionary
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