Meanings
present singular third person breaks wind · participle present breaking wind · past broke wind · participle past broken wind
- euphemisticidiomaticTo expel gases generated during digestion, especially through the anus; to fart.
I broke wind and excused myself afterwards.
1 more example
I asked him to lower my blind, but he took one look and huffed, “Can’t reach that!” I gave him a frosty “That will be all, then,” instead of a tip. He broke wind as he left, poisonously.
2004, David Mitchell, “The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish”, in Cloud Atlas, London: Sceptre (Hodder and Stoughton), →ISBN, page 167Synonyms: let off, let one rip, break ass, pass gas, pass wind, cut the cheese, fart, flatulate
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo expel gases generated during digestion, especially through the anus; to fart.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
First attested 1552. From break + wind (“flatulence”). Compare Saterland Frisian wiendje (“to break wind”).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek πέρδομαι, ἀποπέρδομαι
- πέρδομαι (pérdomai)to flatulate
- ἀποπέρδομαι (apopérdomai)to flatulate
- βδέω (bdéō)to flatulate
Arabic ضَرَطَ
- ضَرَطَ (ḍaraṭa)to flatulate
Bulgarian пу́скам га́зове
- пу́скам га́зове (púskam gázove)to flatulate
Chinese Mandarin 放屁
- 放屁 (fàngpì)to flatulate
Czech pouštět větry
- pouštět větryto flatulate
Dutch een wind laten, een scheet laten
- een wind latento flatulate
- een scheet latento flatulate
Esperanto furzi
- furzito flatulate
Finnish pierrä
- pierräto flatulate
French lâcher, en lâcher un
- lâcherto flatulate
- en lâcher unto flatulate
- péterto flatulate
- lâcher une perleto flatulate
- louferto flatulate
German furzen
- furzento flatulate
Greek κλάνω
- κλάνω (kláno)to flatulate
Hungarian szellent
- szellentto flatulate
Indonesian buang angin, buang gas
- buang anginto flatulate
- buang gasto flatulate
Italian mollarne una
- mollarne unato flatulate
Japanese おならをする, 屁をひる
- おならをする (onara o suru)to flatulate
- 屁をひる (he o hiru)to flatulate
Korean 방귀뀌다
- 방귀뀌다 (banggwikkwida)to flatulate
Latin ventum ēmittō, pēdō
- ventum ēmittōto flatulate
- pēdōto flatulate
Māori keho, hengo
- kehoto flatulate
- hengoto flatulate
- hemoto flatulate
- hemo te touto flatulate
- pateroto flatulate
- pāteroteroto flatulate
- tēto flatulate
- pīhauto flatulate
- pīhauhauto flatulate
Polish puszczać gazy, puścić gazy
- puszczać gazyto flatulate
- puścić gazyto flatulate
- psuć powietrzeto flatulate
- zepsuć powietrzeto flatulate
Portuguese soltar gases
- soltar gasesto flatulate
Russian пу́кать, пу́кнуть
- пу́кать (púkatʹ)to flatulate
- пу́кнуть (púknutʹ)to flatulate
- испуска́ть га́зы (ispuskátʹ gázy)to flatulate
- испусти́ть га́зы (ispustítʹ gázy)to flatulate
Spanish peer, peerse
- peerto flatulate
- peerseto flatulate
Turkish yellenmek
- yellenmekto flatulate
Welsh taro rhech
- taro rhechto flatulate
Cite this entry
break wind. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/break%20wind
“break wind.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/break%20wind. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “break wind,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/break%20wind.
Source: break wind on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.