A gap or opening made by breaking or battering, as in a wall, fortification or levee / embankment; the space between the parts of a solid body rent by violence

The act of breaking, in a figurative sense.

(law) A breaking or infraction of a law, or of any obligation or tie; violation; non-fulfillment.

A breaking up of amicable relations, a falling out.

(figurative) A difference in opinions, social class, etc.

A breaking of waters, as over a vessel or a coastal defence; the waters themselves

A breaking out upon; an assault.

(transitive) To make a breach in.

(transitive) To violate or break.

(transitive, nautical, of the sea) To break into a ship or into a coastal defence.

(intransitive, of a whale) To leap out of the water.

(law, informal, transitive, usually passive) To charge or convict (someone) of breaching the terms of a bail, probation, recognizance, etc.