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# broke

«broke» in Mova's school dictionary: **the past form of break: I broke the window** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (past simple of break: break, breaks, broke, broken, breaking); adjective (broke, informal)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Broke is the past form of break: I broke the window. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/broke/#m1)

2) Broke (informal) means having no money: I'm broke until my next pocket money. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/broke/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In stories, «broke» tells the reader something cracked, snapped or stopped working in the past, or a rule or promise was not kept (broke the rules, broke a promise). In science: the glass broke into pieces. In sport: she broke the record (did better than before). Phrases: broke down (stopped working or started crying), broke out (started suddenly or escaped), broke up (ended, or school finished for holidays in the UK), broke the record.

### examples

- I broke my arm when I fell off my bike. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/broke/#x1)
- The vase fell and broke. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/broke/#x2)
- He broke his promise. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/broke/#x3)
- Our car broke down on the motorway. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/broke/#x4)
- A fire broke out in the kitchen. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/broke/#x5)
- She broke the school record for running. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/broke/#x6)
- We broke up for the summer holidays. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/broke/#x7)
- I spent all my money, so I'm broke. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/broke/#x8)
- And the mace broke in two. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/broke/#x9)

### note

Broke is past simple; broken is the past participle: «I broke it» but «It is broken» / «I have broken it». Never say «I have broke». «Broke» meaning «no money» is slang; in school writing use «had no money».

### In the corpora

- ["Bit the dust" means died, or was destroyed or broke; it is slang.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/1-death-polite-and-joking/13/)
- ["Parted ways" means broke up.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/12-birth-and-couples/21/)
- ["Financially challenged" is a joking way to say poor or broke.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/18-pets-and-money/23/)
- [A girl in Minnesota went roller skating without wrist guards, fell backwards onto her hands and broke both wrists.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/6-skating-and-sports-safety/5/)
- [A boy in Ohio was bored at home and climbed onto the garage roof for fun; he slipped off and broke his arm.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/93-boredom-excitement-and-pride/17/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «broke» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/broke/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.