breach

[ breech ]

noun

1. the act or a result of breaking; a break or rupture:

   Many districts were flooded by the river after a breach in an embankment upstream.

   Synonyms: fracture

2. an infraction or violation, such as of a law, contract, trust, or promise:

   If there is a breach of the warranty, we are not liable for damage.

3. a gap made in a wall, fortification, line of soldiers, etc.; rift; fissure:

   A breach in the castle walls gave the enemy an entrance.

   Synonyms: opening, rent, crack

4. Digital Technology. the unauthorized acquisition, use, or disclosure of customers' or users' personal data:

   There's no indication of a data breach affecting credit card information.

5. a severance of friendly relations.

   Synonyms: dissension, separation, schism, rift, split, alienation

6. the leap of a whale above the surface of the water.
7. Archaic. the breaking of waves; the dashing of surf.
8. Obsolete. wound ¹( def ).

verb (used with object)

1. to make a rupture or opening in:

   We need new ways to recover salmon without breaching the dams.

2. to break or act contrary to (a law, promise, etc.):

   The plaintiff alleges that the defendant has breached the terms of their license.

verb (used without object)

1. (of a whale) to leap partly or completely out of the water, head first, and land on the back or belly with a resounding splash.

breach

/ briːtʃ /

noun

1. a crack, break, or rupture
2. a breaking, infringement, or violation of a promise, obligation, etc
3. any severance or separation

   there was a breach between the two factions of the party

4. a gap in an enemy's fortifications or line of defence created by bombardment or attack
5. the act of a whale in breaking clear of the water
6. the breaking of sea waves on a shore or rock
7. an obsolete word for wound 1

verb

1. tr to break through or make an opening, hole, or incursion in
2. tr to break a promise, law, etc
3. intr (of a whale) to break clear of the water

Other Words From

• breach·er noun
• non·breach noun
• non·breach·ing adjective
• un·breached adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of breach¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English breche, Old English bræc “breaking”; break ( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of breach¹

Old English bræc ; influenced by Old French brèche , from Old High German brecha , from brechan to break

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. more honored in the breach (than the observance),
   1. (of a rule, law, custom, etc.) frequently ignored or rarely carried out:

      Courtly love was just an ideal, more honored in the breach than the observance.

      Even the best advice may be more honored in the breach.

   2. (of a rule, law, custom, etc.) unjust or ignoble to the point of being better to ignore:

      They agreed that the promises made to their unfit leader would be more honored in the breach than the observance.

Synonym Study

Breach, infraction, violation, transgression all denote in some way the breaking of a rule or law or the upsetting of a normal and desired state. Breach is used infrequently in reference to laws or rules, more often in connection with desirable conditions or states of affairs: a breach of the peace, of good manners, of courtesy. Infraction most often refers to clearly formulated rules or laws: an infraction of the criminal code, of university regulations, of a labor contract. Violation, a stronger term than either of the preceding two, often suggests intentional, even forceful or aggressive, refusal to obey the law or to respect the rights of others: repeated violations of parking regulations; a human rights violation. Transgression, with its root sense of “a stepping across (of a boundary of some sort),” applies to any behavior that exceeds the limits imposed by a law, especially a moral law, a commandment, or an order; it often implies sinful behavior: a serious transgression of social customs, of God's commandments.

Example Sentences

"I think this would be a breach of protocol that could be dangerous for us going forward in the future."

From BBC

It also said "some departments appeared to lack central tracking systems" for appointments, and identified two "technical" breaches of the recruitment principles relating to record keeping issues.

From BBC

His comments follow a row between Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson and Essex Police, who are investigating an allegation she breached the Public Order Act in a social media post last year.

From BBC

The firm Harmony CCS Limited, which is based in Belfast, was prosecuted and pleaded guilty to a single health and safety breach.

From BBC

In July, Northern Rail was issued a "breach notice" by the Department for Transport for cancelling too many trains, which required it to work on a plan to fix the problem.

From BBC

Related Words

• contravention
• dereliction
• disregard
• infraction
• infringement
• neglect
• noncompliance
• offense
• transgression
• violation

More About Breach

What does breach mean?

A breach is a physical break or rupture, as in the hull of a ship. It also means a violation or infraction, as in a breach of trust. It can also be used as a verb referring to the action that leads to each of these things.

Breach is often used in phrases like security breach, data breach, breach of trust, breach of etiquette, and breach of contract. 

Example: We view these ethical violations as an unforgivable breach of the public trust, and we call on the senator to resign.

Where does breach come from?

Breach has been in use since before 1000. It comes from the same roots as the word break, and all of its senses relate to breaking or breaking through something.

In a physical sense, to breach something is to break through it. This is often applied to things that aren’t supposed to break, such as the hull of a ship or a thick wall, as in They’ve breached the castle gate! The resulting hole is called a breach.

The figurative sense of breach follows the same pattern. To breach something in this way is to violate it. It’s often applied to abstract things, as in breach the peace. In its figurative sense, it’s perhaps more commonly used as a noun, as in phrases like breach of trust and breach of friendship (in which cases it often refers to a betrayal) and breach of etiquette (meaning a violation of proper behavior). In a legal sense, you can breach a contract by not following it (resulting in a breach of contract). When someone bypasses security, it’s called a security breach. When hackers steal information, it’s called a data breach.

A little more specifically, it’s called a breach when a whale breaches the surface of the water by thrusting itself up out of it.

Breach should not be confused with the homophone breech, which generally refers to the lower part of something.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to breach?

• breacher (noun)
• nonbreach (noun)
• nonbreaching (adjective)
• unbreached (adjective)

What are some synonyms for breach?

• violate
• violation
• infraction
• rupture

What are some words that share a root or word element with breach? 

• break

What are some words that often get used in discussing breach?

 

• trust
• data
• contract
• security
• etiquette
• friendship
• promise
• peace
• convention

 

What are some words breach may be commonly confused with?

 

• breech

 

How is breach used in real life?

Breach refers to things that have been broken or violated. The break can be physical, but breach more commonly refers to violations of abstract things.

How did the protomolecule instantaneously infiltrate the ship? Did it breach the hull like a missile? #theexpanse

— Iris Pangburn (@Calamitatis) May 17, 2018

Salespeople who send meeting invites unsolicited… don’t. I’ll never work with you once you’ve committed this profound breach of etiquette.

— David Harold (@dcharold) March 5, 2020

I have to tell you, if using your product or service requires me to sign up for a new account, I'm way less likely to use it than I would be with existing credentials (using Sign In with Apple, for example). Too many data breach examples for me to bother these days.

— Peter Cohen (@flargh) February 24, 2020

 

 

Try using breach!

Which of the following words is a synonym for breach?

A. agreement
B. violation
C. reconciliation
D. broken