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brake  –  break

[the same pronunciation]

“Brake” as a noun means

(a piece/area of brake — land)

(a) ‘a piece of wet, rough land with wild bushes and low-growing plants’,

a brake on a motor car wheel-drum (a device in red)

(b) ‘an apparatus (device) to stop or lessen the speed of a running wheel of a machine or a vehicle’; and as a verb, it means ‘to stop or lessen the speed of a running machine or vehicle’,

a rope brake

brake – braked – braked

e.g.

The brakes of the car failed and the driver crashed into a tree.

The driver braked suddenly to avoid a stray dog running across the road.

“Break” as a noun means

a break in the wall

(a) ‘a gap or opening between something’,

(b) ‘a short rest while doing some work’,

(c) ‘to go away or do something differently from the regular or boring work’;

breaking an egg

and as a verb, it means ‘to make something come apart or into separate pieces suddenly or violently, either intentionally or by accident but not by cutting or tearing’,

breaking a pencil into two pieces

break – broke – broken

e.g.

A thief tried to break the glass and gain entry into the shop, but the glass didn’t break!

Don’t break your toys; play with them.

Common Errors:

1.

His mother and father tried to break when he was five. [separated – divorced] [wrong]

His mother and father break up when he was five.  [right]

2.

When I lost my front door key, I had to break the door to get into my house.  [wrong]

When I lost my front door key, I had to break down the door to get into my house.  [right]

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