20 Phrasal Verbs with BREAK | BREAK英文片語動詞完整指南

English has thousands of phrasal verbs, but learners who master the BREAK family unlock a huge slice of everyday speech. Native speakers say “the car broke down,” “they broke up,” and “she broke through” dozens of times a day — without thinking. For Taiwanese learners (台灣英語學習者), these 20 forms cover situations from relationship drama to business negotiations to jail escapes.

This guide covers all 20 phrasal verbs with BREAK, gives you real example sentences, explains how to use them in business English, and ends with a practice quiz to test yourself.

What Makes BREAK So Versatile? (BREAK的多義性)

The base verb break means to separate something into pieces by force. But once you pair it with a particle — a preposition or adverb like down, up, out, or through — the meaning shifts dramatically.

Consider these three sentences:

• The machine broke. → 機器壞了
• The machine broke down. → 機器故障了（更口語、更常用）
• The team broke through a bottleneck. → 團隊突破了瓶頸

The particle changes the physical action into something abstract and idiomatic. This is exactly why phrasal verbs are hard to guess from context alone — and exactly why this list will save you years of confusion.

Phrasal Verbs with BREAK: Meaning and Examples (BREAK片語動詞完整列表)

Here are all 20 phrasal verbs, each with a Chinese translation and two example sentences showing how native speakers actually use them.

1. Break Down (故障；崩潰；分解)

Used for machines stopping, emotions collapsing, or analyzing something into parts.

• My laptop broke down right before the deadline. → 筆電在截止日前故障了。
• She broke down in tears when she heard the news. → 她聽到消息後崩潰大哭。

2. Break Up (分手；解散；停止)

Relationships end, groups dissolve, or a signal gets interrupted.

• They broke up after three years together. → 交往三年後，他們分手了。
• The phone call kept breaking up — too many mountains. → 通話一直斷斷續續，山區訊號太差。

3. Break Out (爆發；逃跑)

Used for sudden events (war, disease, fire) or escaping from somewhere.

• A fire broke out on the third floor at midnight. → 午夜，三樓突然起火。
• Two prisoners broke out of the jail last night. → 昨晚兩名囚犯越獄。

4. Break In (闖入；打斷；試穿/試用)

Three separate meanings depending on context: entering illegally, interrupting speech, or wearing new shoes.

• Someone broke in through the back window. → 有人從後窗闖入。
• Sorry to break in, but the meeting starts now. → 抱歉打斷一下，會議現在開始。
• I’m still breaking in these new boots — they’re killing my feet. → 這雙新靴子還在磨合期，腳快磨破了。

5. Break Through (突破)

Moving past a barrier — physical or metaphorical.

• Scientists broke through a major obstacle in cancer research. → 科學家在癌症研究上取得重大突破。
• The sun finally broke through the clouds after a week of rain. → 雨下了一週，太陽終於穿雲而出。

6. Break Off (突然停止；折斷)

Stopping something abruptly or snapping a piece off.

• Negotiations broke off without any agreement. → 談判突然破裂，未達成任何協議。
• She broke off a piece of chocolate and handed it to him. → 她折了一塊巧克力遞給他。

7. Break Even (損益平衡)

When revenue exactly equals costs — neither profit nor loss. This is essential business English (商業英文必備).

• We need to sell 200 units just to break even. → 我們至少要賣出200件才能損益平衡。
• The company broke even in its second year of operation. → 公司在第二年達到損益平衡。

8. Break Into (強行進入；進入新領域)

Entering by force, or beginning a new career or market.

• The startup broke into the Southeast Asian market in 2023. → 這家新創公司2023年打入東南亞市場。
• He broke into a run when he heard the alarm. → 聽到警報聲，他拔腿狂奔。

9. Break Away (脫離；分道揚鑣)

Leaving a group, tradition, or country.

• She broke away from the family business to start her own café. → 她離開家族企業，自己開了一家咖啡廳。
• The runner broke away from the pack in the final kilometer. → 最後一公里，那名跑者從大集團中脫離。

10. Break Loose (掙脫束縛)

Escaping from physical restraint or control.

• The dog broke loose from its leash and ran across the park. → 狗掙脫牽繩，衝過公園。
• Once he retired, he finally broke loose from all the rules. → 退休後，他終於擺脫了所有束縛。

11. Break Apart (分裂；分崩離析)

Coming apart into pieces — for objects, relationships, or organizations.

• The old bridge broke apart under the weight of the flood. → 舊橋在洪水的重壓下斷裂。
• The political party broke apart after the scandal. → 醜聞爆發後，政黨分裂。

12. Break Open (強行打開)

Forcing something sealed to open.

• Firefighters had to break open the door to rescue the family. → 消防員不得不強行打開門救出一家人。
• Let’s break open a bottle of wine to celebrate. → 來開瓶紅酒慶祝吧。

13. Break Back (殺回；反攻)

Returning to contention, often in sports or competition.

• Down two sets, she broke back to win the match in five. → 落後兩盤，她奮力反撲，以五盤拿下比賽。
• The team broke back in the second half to tie the game. → 下半場，球隊反攻扳平。

14. Break Ranks (打破隊形；違背群體)

Going against the official position of a group you belong to.

• One senator broke ranks to vote against the party bill. → 一位參議員違背黨意，投票反對法案。
• It takes courage to break ranks when everyone else is silent. → 在眾人沉默時，需要勇氣打破隊形發聲。

15. Break Cover (暴露；現身)

Revealing yourself after hiding — originally a hunting term.

• The fox broke cover when the hounds got too close. → 獵犬逼近，狐狸從藏身處衝出。
• After months of silence, the whistleblower finally broke cover. → 沉默數月後，告密者終於現身。

16. Break Free (自由；解放)

Escaping from something — physically or emotionally. Often used in songs and speeches.

• She finally broke free from a toxic relationship. → 她終於從有毒的關係中解放。
• The hostage broke free when the guard looked away. → 守衛轉身的瞬間，人質掙脫逃跑。

17. Break New Ground (開創先例)

Doing something innovative or pioneering for the first time.

• This research breaks new ground in renewable energy. → 這項研究在再生能源領域開創先例。
• The film broke new ground by using entirely AI-generated visuals. → 這部電影全程使用AI生成畫面，開創先例。

18. Break the Ice (打破僵局)

Doing something to reduce tension or awkwardness at the start of a social event.

• He told a joke to break the ice at the first meeting. → 他在第一次會議上說了個笑話打破僵局。
• A quick game is the easiest way to break the ice with new students. → 一個小遊戲是和新學生打破僵局最簡單的方式。

19. Break the News (告知壞消息)

Delivering difficult or surprising information to someone.

• The doctor had to break the news to the family gently. → 醫生不得不輕聲告知家屬壞消息。
• Who’s going to break the news about the project being cancelled? → 誰要去告訴大家這個專案取消了？

20. Break a Habit (戒掉習慣)

Stopping a regular behavior, especially a bad one.

• Breaking a habit takes at least 21 days of consistent effort. → 戒掉一個習慣至少需要21天的持續努力。
• He finally broke his habit of checking his phone first thing in the morning. → 他終於戒掉了一起床就看手機的習慣。

BREAK片語動詞在商業英文中的應用 (BREAK in Business English)

Several BREAK phrasal verbs appear constantly in workplace English (職場英文). Here are the five you need to know before your next meeting:

In business contexts, break down shifts from its emotional meaning to a purely analytical one — nobody in a board meeting is crying, they’re splitting data into categories. Context (語境) is everything.

BREAK片語動詞學習技巧 (How to Remember These)

Twenty phrasal verbs feels like a lot. Here’s how to actually retain them:

1. Group by particle. Notice that break down, break off, Dan break apart all involve something stopping or separating. The particle “down” almost always signals decrease or failure.
2. Make personal sentences. Replace the subjects with your own name or people you know. “My bike broke down near 西門町” sticks better than a textbook example.
3. Learn in chunks, not lists. Study 4-5 phrasal verbs per week rather than all 20 at once. Return to the list on days 7, 14, and 30.
4. Find them in the wild. Search any English news headline containing “break” and identify which phrasal verb is being used.
5. Use spaced repetition (間隔重複). Apps like Anki are built for exactly this — add each phrasal verb as a card with a personal example sentence.

Practice: Fill in the Blanks

Choose the correct phrasal verb: break down, break out, break even, break the ice, break through

1. The old factory ________ after years of neglect. (stopped working)
2. A protest ________ near the parliament building yesterday. (started suddenly)
3. The startup expects to ________ within 18 months. (earn back costs)
4. She suggested a team lunch to ________ with the new interns. (reduce awkwardness)
5. After years of failure, the researchers finally ________. (made a major advance)

Answers: 1. broke down   2. broke out   3. break even   4. break the ice   5. broke through

Watch and Learn (影片學習)

This video from engVid covers eight of the most common BREAK phrasal verbs with clear explanations and examples:

More Phrasal Verb Guides (更多片語動詞指南)

Phrasal verbs work best when you learn several verb families together. These related guides are on the same site:

• Phrasal Verbs with SET — set up, set off, set out, set back and more
• Phrasal Verbs with BRING — bring up, bring about, bring in, bring back
• Phrasal Verbs with GIVE — give up, give in, give away, give out

For a deeper look at how particles like UP, DOWN, OUT, and OFF shape meaning across all phrasal verbs, see: Cambridge Grammar: Phrasal Verbs Dan Oxford Learner’s Dictionary: Phrasal Verbs.

Sumber

• Cambridge Dictionary — Phrasal Verbs
• Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries — Phrasal Verbs
• engVid — Free English Video Lessons