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Showing results for breach of promise. Search instead for Breach+of+promise.
Synonyms

breach of promise

American  

noun

Law.

  1. a violation of one's promise, especially of a promise to marry a specific person.

breach of promise British  

noun

  1. law (formerly) failure to carry out one's promise to marry

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of breach of promise

First recorded in 1580–90

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The reason is not because you’re contesting the will, but are effectively bringing a case against your stepmother’s alleged breach of promise.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 23, 2026

Then stuff happened, including the birth of two children, and a breach of promise suit that made headlines in 1893.

From New York Times • Dec. 19, 2018

There have been demands that India's law should be amended so that "breach of promise to marriage" is treated as cheating and fraud, not as rape.

From BBC • Feb. 15, 2016

“This is a breach of promise of making safety the No. 1 goal of the agency and the Transportation Department,” Jasny said in a telephone interview today.

From BusinessWeek • Dec. 23, 2011

“He had a breach of promise with a hairdresser, a widow, who came to Ann Arbor from St. Louis, Mich.”

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.