Brake or break?
brake is a noun meaning “A device used to slow or stop the motion of a wheel, or of a vehicle, usually…”; break is a verb meaning “To separate into two or more pieces, to fracture or crack, by a process that…”. Use brake as a noun and break as a verb (break is also a noun: “An instance of breaking something into two or more pieces”). They sound the same (/bɹeɪk/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) break is about 17 times as common as brake.
What is the difference between brake and break?
| brake | break | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb | verb, noun |
| Meaning | A device used to slow or stop the motion of a wheel, or of a vehicle, usually by friction (although other resistive forces, such as electromagnetic fields or… The act of braking, of using a brake to slow down a machine or vehicle To operate a brake or brakes | To separate into two or more pieces, to fracture or crack, by a process that cannot easily be reversed for reassembly To crack or fracture (bone) under a physical strain An instance of breaking something into two or more pieces |
| Example | She slammed the brakes when she saw a child run in front of the car | If the vase falls to the floor, it might break |
| Forms | brakes | breaks, breaking, broke, broken breaks, breaking, breaked |
| Pronunciation | /bɹeɪk/ | /bɹeɪk/ [bɹʷeɪ̯k] /bɹɛk/ |
| In writing | 8.9 times per million words | 151 times per million words |
Sources: brake and break in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of brake and break
brake
- 1
A device used to slow or stop the motion of a wheel, or of a vehicle, usually by friction (although other resistive forces, such as electromagnetic fields or aerodynamic drag, can also be used)…
She slammed the brakes when she saw a child run in front of the car
- 2
To operate a brake or brakes
- 3
Any fern in the genus Pteris
- 4
A thicket, or an area overgrown with briers etc
- 5
A type of machine for bending sheet metal. (See wikipedia.)
- 6
To bruise and crush; to knead
The farmer’s son brakes the flax while mother brakes the bread dough
- 7
A type of torture instrument
- 8
The act of braking, of using a brake to slow down a machine or vehicle
Give the car a quick brake
break
- 1
To separate into two or more pieces, to fracture or crack, by a process that cannot easily be reversed for reassembly
If the vase falls to the floor, it might break
- 2
An instance of breaking something into two or more pieces
The femur has a clean break and so should heal easily
- 3
A section of extended repetition of the percussion break to a song, created by a hip-hop DJ as rhythmic dance music
- 4
slangTo B-boy; to breakdance
- 5
To crack or fracture (bone) under a physical strain
His ribs broke under the weight of the rocks piled on his chest
- 6
A physical space that opens up in something or between two things
The sun came out in a break in the clouds
- 7
To make the first shot; to scatter the balls from the initial neat arrangement
Is it your or my turn to break?
- 8
An interruption of continuity; departure from or rupture with
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, brake or break?
brake appears 8.9 times per million words; break 151 times per million words.
brake 8.9 times per million wordsbreak 151 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search brake vs break?
“brake vs break” is searched about 8,100 times a month on Google and 170 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“break vs brake”, “brake or break”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.