Break

break away

to escape

suddenly from sb

who is holding

you

wyzwalać się;

uciekać

The prisoner broke

away from his

guards.

to leave a political
party, state, etc. in

order to form a

new one

wyłamywać się;

odłączać się

Several politicians

broke away from the

Labour Party and

formed the SDP.

break down

stop working

psuć się

The car broke down

so we missed the

ferry.

lose control of

feelings

załamywać się

She broke down

when she was told

her father was dead.

fail

(talks/negotiations)

nie udawać się;

kończyć się

niepowodzeniem

Negotiations broke

down and war was

declared.

separate under

headings

rozkładać coś na

czynniki

He broke the list

down into categories

to destroy sth by

using force

wyłamywać

to break down a door

break in

enter by force or

illegally

włamywać się

Burglars broke in and

stole my jewellery.

to interrupt when

sb else is speaking

wtrącać się

‘But that’s not true!’
she broke in angrily.

break in (on sth) -

to interrupt when

sb else is speaking

wtrącać się

The waiter broke in

on our conversation

to tell me I had a

phone call.

break into

enter by force

włamywać się

He broke into the

villa and stole some

money.

interrupt

wtrącać się

He broke into their

conversation to ask

something.

to start doing sth

suddenly

nagle zaczynać

coś robić

He broke into a smile

when he heard the

good news.

break off

to suddenly stop

doing or saying sth

zatrzymywać się

He started speaking

and then broke off in

the middle of a

sentence.

to remove a part of

sth by force; to

przełamywać coś;

odłamywać (się)

Could you break off

another bit of

chocolate for me?

come off in this

way

Oh no, part of my

tooth has broken off!

to end a

relationship

suddenly

zrywać coś

They broke off their

engagement after a

bad argument.

break out

to start suddenly

(war, fight etc)

wybuchać

The Second World

War broke out after

the invasion of

Poland.

to escape from a

prison

uciekać

Dangerous man

broke out from the

prison last night.

break out in – to

suddenly become

covered in sth

pokryć się czymś

He broke out in a

cold sweat. Oblał go

zimny pot.

break through

to manage to get

past sth that is

stopping you

przedrzeć się

The protesters were

trying to break

through the line of

police.

break up

to come to an end

zakończyć się

The meeting broke

up just before lunch

to start school

holidays at the end

of a term

kończyć naukę

przed feriami lub

wakacjami

When do you break

up for the holidays?

to end a

relationship with a

wife, husband,

girlfriend r

boyfriend

rozpadać się/

zrywać z kimś

My marriage broke

up when I was 25.

She’s broken up with

her boufriend.

to separate into

parts

rozbijać (się)

The ship broke up on

the rocks.

to end an event by

separating the

people who are

involved in it

rozpraszać (tłum)

The police arrived

and broke up the

fight.

break with

to end a

relationship or

connection with

sb/sth

zrywać z

kimś/czymś

to break with

tradition/the past