Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
verb
- past participle of break.
adjective
- reduced to fragments; fragmented.
- ruptured; torn; fractured.
- not functioning properly; out of working order.
- Meteorology. (of sky cover) being more than half, but not totally, covered by clouds.Compare scattered(def 4).
- changing direction abruptly: The fox ran in a broken line.
- fragmentary or incomplete: a broken ton of coal weighing 1,500 pounds.
- infringed or violated: A broken promise is a betrayal of trust.
- interrupted, disrupted, or disconnected: After the phone call he returned to his broken sleep.
- weakened in strength, spirit, etc.: His broken health was due to alcoholism.
- tamed, trained, or reduced to submission: The horse was broken to the saddle.
- imperfectly spoken, as language: She still speaks broken English.
- spoken in a halting or fragmentary manner, as under emotional strain: He uttered a few broken words of sorrow.
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- (of a relationship) split apart; not intact: a broken marriage.
- (of a family) disunited or divided by the prolonged or permanent absence of a parent, usually due to divorce or desertion: a child from a broken home; broken families.
- not smooth; rough or irregular: We left the plains and rode through broken country.
- ruined; bankrupt: the broken fortunes of his family.
- Papermaking, Printing. a quantity of paper of less than 500 or 1000 sheets.
verb
- the past participle of break
adjective
- fractured, smashed, or splintereda broken vase
- imperfect or incomplete; fragmentarya broken set of books
- interrupted; disturbed; disconnectedbroken sleep
- intermittent or discontinuousbroken sunshine
- varying in direction or intensity, as of pitcha broken note; a broken run
- not functioninga broken radio
- spoilt or ruined by divorce (esp in the phrases broken home, broken marriage)
- (of a trust, promise, contract, etc) violated; infringed
- overcome with grief or disappointmenta broken heart
- (of the speech of a foreigner) imperfect in grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciationbroken English
- Also: broken-in made tame or disciplined by traininga broken horse; a broken recruit
- exhausted or weakened as through ill-health or misfortune
- confused or disorganizedbroken ranks of soldiers
- breached or openedbroken defensive lines
- irregular or rough; unevenbroken ground
- bankrupt or out of moneya broken industry
- (of colour) having a multicoloured decorative effect, as by stippling paint onto a surface
- Southern African informal drunk
late 14c., past participle adjective from break (v.). Broken record in reference to someone continually repeating the same thing is from 1944, in reference to scratches on records that cause the needle to jump back and repeat.
When Britain’s Minister of State, Selwyn Lloyd[,] became bored with a speech by Russia’s Andrei Vishinsky in UN debate, he borrowed a Dizzy Gillespie bebop expression and commented: “Dig that broken record.” While most translators pondered the meaning, a man who takes English and puts it into Chinese gave this translation: “Recover the phonograph record which you have discarded.” [“Jet,” Oct. 15, 1953]