breakage

break·age
B3R1E1A1K5A1G2E1
/ˈbɹeɪkɪd͡ʒ/

noun

The act of breaking.

“At the end of the party, there were two reported breakages.”

Less commonScrabble 15

Meanings

nounbreakage (countable and uncountable, plural breakages)

plural breakages

  1. countableuncountableThe act of breaking.

    A loader performs the important work of storing goods in the wagons and of unloading the wagons. In each case considerable skill is required to avoid breakage, and, in the case of loading, skill goes far to conserve wagon space.

    1944 March and April, T. F. Cameron, “The Working of Marshalling Yards and Goods Sheds”, in Railway Magazine, page 85
  2. countableuncountableSomething that has been broken.

    At the end of the party, there were two reported breakages.

  3. countableuncountableaccountingA service which is unused by a customer, such as an unredeemed gift card, which therefore represents a pure profit to the seller.
  4. countableuncountableThe left-over money in a pari-mutuel betting pool resulting from rounding off the payoffs, added to the pool for the next race or event or kept as profit.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounthe act of breaking something

Broader
change of integrity

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰreg-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*bʰrégeti
  3. Proto-Germanic*brekaną
  4. Proto-West Germanic*brekan
  5. Old Englishbrecan
  6. Middle Englishbreken
  7. Englishbreak
  8. Englishbreakage

From break + -age.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek ῥῆγμα
  • ῥῆγμα (rhêgma)something that has been broken
Bulgarian чупене, трошене
  • чупене (čupene)action of breaking
  • трошене (trošene)action of breaking
  • нещо счупено (nešto sčupeno)something that has been broken
Finnish rikkominen, särkeminen
  • rikkominenaction of breaking
  • särkeminenaction of breaking
  • rikkoutuminenaction of breaking
  • särkyminenaction of breaking
  • särkynyt esinesomething that has been broken
German Anbruch
  • Anbruchsomething that has been broken
Norwegian Bokmål brekkasje, brekkasje
  • brekkasjeaction of breaking
  • brekkasjesomething that has been broken
Polish stłuczenie, stłuczka
  • stłuczenieaction of breaking
  • stłuczkasomething that has been broken
Spanish rompimiento, rotura
  • rompimientoaction of breaking
  • roturaaction of breaking
Welsh toriad, gorthoriant
  • toriadaction of breaking
  • gorthoriantaction of breaking

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with breakage

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

breakage. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/breakage

MLA

“breakage.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/breakage. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “breakage,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/breakage.

Source: breakage on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.