break
breɪk
A cracked screen and a coffee break share one snapped line
The picture Something continuous gives way and snaps at a single point. Break is something continuous snapping; fix is joining the snapped ends back together.
Where the picture shows up in break
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an object snaps
I broke my phone screen yesterday.
aɪ broʊk maɪ foʊn skriːn ˈjestərdeɪ
I cracked my phone screen yesterday.
A crack races across the glass and a piece lets go.
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the workflow snaps
Let us take a ten-minute break.
let ʌs teɪk ə ten ˈmɪnɪt breɪk
Let us stop for ten minutes.
The unbroken line of the workday opens into a ten-minute gap.
A break is the gap where continuous work snaps.
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a running machine snaps
The washing machine broke down again.
ðə ˈwɑːʃɪŋ məˈʃiːn broʊk daʊn əˈɡen
The washing machine stopped working again.
The spinning drum jolts to a stop and the power cuts out.
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a promise snaps
He broke his promise to me.
hiː broʊk hɪz ˈprɑːmɪs tuː miː
He went back on his word to me.
The single thread tied between two people snaps.
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a held-back story snaps out
The news broke this morning.
ðə nuːz broʊk ðɪs ˈmɔːrnɪŋ
The story came out this morning.
A story held under a lid bursts out into the morning.
Something covered cracks its shell and gets out.
All of it in one picture
Break is a line that snaps. Snap the glass and you have damage; snap the workday and you have a rest; snap the running power and the machine is dead; snap the thread between two people and a promise is broken; snap the lid and the news is out. None of these is a new meaning — it is one break, put on glass, on a day, on a motor, on a promise, on silence.