you would do: We've come all this way to talk to her - you can't wimp out now. wimp out of (doing) sth I bet he wimps out of giving that speech tomorrow.
repair
DESTROY
BREAK
DEUBEJtATELY
\ t
DAMAGE
see also
accident
i \
86
HURT/I»«URE ACCIDENTALLY
D object/window/plate/ cup etc
break /breik/ [v \/T\ if something breaks, or if you break it, it separates into two or more pieces because it has been hit,
dropped, or bent: He dropped the vase and it broke. I I'm sorry, but I've broken one of your plates.
get broken {=be broken accidentally) A few of the cups got broken when we moved to the new house. break (sth) in two/break (sth) in hal/
(=into two fairly equal pieces) A tile came off the roof and broke in two as it hit the ground. I I broke the chocolate in half and gave a piece to my brother.
breaking - broke - have broken
crack /кгжк/ [и 1/Г] if a window, plate, cup etc cracks, or if you crack it, it becomes damaged and lines appear in its surface: I put one of the wine glasses in hot water and it cracked. I A stone hit the car window and cracked it.
smash /smaej/ [v Щ] if
something smashes, or if you smash it, it breaks into pieces because it has been dropped, thrown, or hit, and it makes a loud noise: I heard something smash in the kitchen. Dad must have dropped a dish or something. I They
smashed the display window and
grabbed $4000 worth of gold jewelry, be smashed to pieces/bits Their little boat hit the rocks and was smashed to bits.
smash
He smashed two plates while washing up.
shatter
smash (sth) to pieces/bits The bottle fell off the table and smashed to pieces on the floor.
shatter /'J"aetor/ [v I/T] if a window, plate,
mirror etc shatters, or if something shatters it, it breaks into very many small pieces, making a loud noise: A big water jug slid off the table and shattered into a thousand pieces as it hit the floor. I The huge blast shattered office windows 500 metres away.
В machine/camera/ television etc
break /breik/ [и T] if you break a machine, camera etc, you damage it so that it does not work any more: "Can I use your camera, Dad?" "OK, but be careful you don't break it." I If you turn the key too hard, you might break the lock.
breaking - brokt? - have broken
paper/clothes/things made of cloth
tear
A Don't use break about paper, clothes, and things made of cloth.
tear /tеэг/ |u T] to pull
Crying bitterly, she tore up his letter.
paper or cloth apart, or to accidentally make a hole in it: She unwrapped the present carefully, trying not to tear the paper. I Mark had torn his jacket climbing over a fence. tear up sth/tear sth up (=tear it into many
pieces) Crying bitterly, she tore up his letter.
tear sth in half (=tear it into two pieces) He took my ticket and tore it in half.
tearing - tore - have torn
a bone in your body
break /breik/ [и T] to break or crack a bone in your body
break your arm/leg/ankle Nicola broke her leg when she went skiing.
breaking - broke - have broken
/racture /fekt/or; [и T] to damage a bone in your body so that a line appears along it
/racture your skuil/leg/rtbs The X-ray showed that he had fractured his skull.
Don't use break about a ball, tyre, or water pipe.
burst /bsrst/ [и I] if a tyre, ball, pipe etc bursts, it breaks open, and air, gas, or liquid comes out: One of the front tyres burst, causing the car to swerve and crash. I Thousands of gallons of oil flowed into the river when an oil pipeline burst. bursting - burst - have burst
blow /Ыэи/ [и I) american if a tyre blows, it breaks open suddenly and all the air comes out of it: One of the tires blew and we skidded off the freeway.
when part of something is broken from the main part
break off /breik Щ-'уЛ! [phrasal verb I/T] if something breaks off, or if you break it off, it becomes separated from the thing that it was fixed to, by being pulled very hard: The wing of the plane broke off in the storm, and all 98 people on board were killed. I Don't turn the knob too far - you might break it off.
come off /,клт 'Df|-'xfj [phrasal verb I] if something comes off, it accidentally becomes separated from the thing that it is fixed to, because it is not fastened firmly enough: Can you fix the door? The handle has come off. come off sth Look, there's something in the road. It looks as if a wheel has come off a car
easily broken
fragile /'frawfeaill-dyl/ [adj] a fragile object is not strong, and can be easily broken or damaged: Be careful with those glasses - they're fragile. I The package
A Fracture is the usual medical word that is used when someone breaks a bone in their body.
ball/tyre/water pipe etc
A
87
BREAK
was marked FRAGILE - HANDLE WITH CARE.
BREATHE
K1 to breathe
breathe /briid/ [и I] to take air into your
lungs and send it out again through your
nose or mouth: The air was so smoky it was difficult to breathe. I The boy was unconscious, but he was still breathing. breathe deeply (=slowly take a lot of air into your lungs) / want you to breathe deeply and relax.