breach definition - Dictionary

Dictionary

breach [ breech ]

noun (plural breach·es)

Definition:

1. failure to maintain something: a failure to obey, keep, or preserve something such as a law, trust, or promise

a breach of confidentiality

2. estrangement: a breakdown in friendly relations

3. hole: a hole in something that is caused by something else forcing its way through

4. gap: a gap that results when somebody or something leaves

5. whale's leap: a leap out of the water by a whale

verb (past and past participle breached, present participle breach·ing, 3rd person present singular breach·es)

Definition:

1. transitive verb break law or promise: to fail to obey, keep, or preserve something such as a law, trust, or promise

2. transitive verb make opening through something: to break down an obstruction to allow something to pass through it

3. transitive verb surpass limit: to go beyond a target or limit

a proposal to breach the budgetary limit

4. transitive and intransitive verb leap out: to leap out of the water ( refers to whales )

[13th century. < Old French breche< Germanic]

breach·a·ble adjective

Spelling Note


	breach or breech? Do not confuse the spelling of breach and breech, which sound similar. Breach is a noun or verb referring to an opening or the breaking of something, as in step into the breach, a breach of the peace, to breach their defenses. Breech is a noun denoting the rear part of a gun barrel or of the body, for example, in a breech birth.