honour in the breach

A form of honor in the breach — To demonstrate (a rule, law, or policy) by breaking or breaching it.

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Meanings

verbhonour in the breach (third-person singular simple present honours in the breach, present participle honouring in the breach, simple past and past participle honoured in the breach)

present singular third person honours in the breach · participle present honouring in the breach · participle past honoured in the breach · past honoured in the breach

  1. UKalternativeAlternative form of honor in the breach.

    By the beginning of February British Railways were admitting in public that in some parts of the system running to time had been honoured more in the breach than the observance during the winter.

    1960 April, “Talking of Trains: The present difficulties”, in Trains Illustrated, page 193
Cite this entry
APA

honour in the breach. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/honour%20in%20the%20breach

MLA

“honour in the breach.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/honour%20in%20the%20breach. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “honour in the breach,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/honour%20in%20the%20breach.

Source: honour in the breach on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.