broken1 verbbroken2 adjective
brokenbro‧ken1 /ˈbrəʊkən $ ˈbroʊ/ verb 
EXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
- But your partner has just broken a leg and is recovering at home.
- His neck was broken when Sigsworth hit him with a fire extinguisher.
- Of course, my friend has already broken his resolution.
- Only at this point can we begin healing ourselves and our broken world.
- Simon had broken yesterday's confidences?
- The shed windows were broken and stood out black and jagged by the reflected light of the moon.
- Vacuum cleaners were broken before they made the first one.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
You might get hurt if you stand there. Mind the camera doesn’t get broken. My dad got killed in a car crash.
the past participle of break· He was taken to hospital with a broken arm.
· The doctor thought that I had a broken bone in my wrist.· Luckily the bone wasn't broken.
You might get hurt if you stand there. Mind the camera doesn’t get broken. My dad got killed in a car crash.· She cleaned up the broken glass with a dustpan and brush.
(=feeling very sad because of a problem in love)· I wonder how many broken hearts Carlo was responsible for.
(=a family in which the parents have separated)· Many of the youngsters came from broken homes.
· After two failed marriages, she was not willing to risk marrying again.
(=one that is not straight because the bone has been broken by a hit or fall)· a boxer with a broken nose
(=one that has not been kept)· There have been too many broken promises.
broken1 verbbroken2 adjective
brokenbroken2 ●●● S3 W2 adjective EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- "What's the time?" "I don't know, my watch is broken."
- broken beer bottles
- a broken dishwasher
- Gary returned from the war a broken man.
- I think my ankle's broken.
- I think the doorbell must be broken - I didn't hear anything.
- In the corner of the room were a broken chair and a rickety old desk.
- One little boy had a broken arm.
- The accident left her with three broken bones in her wrist.
- The birds had gotten into the cabin through a broken window.
- The camera was broken, so none of my pictures turned out.
- The floor was covered in broken glass.
- The two students, one Chinese, the other Greek, communicated in broken English.
- This suitcase is no good - the handle's broken.
- We had months of broken sleep before the baby finally slept through the night.
- Bits of broken glass sparkled in the sunlight.
- By 1947, Fred was a broken man addicted to alcohol and the treble chance.
- Half the space is taken up by a picture of a violin - ah yes, but one with a broken string.
- He grew up oppressed by the sense of belonging to a broken culture, deprived of his inheritance.
- One of them was a doctor, a large, unhealthy looking specimen with a huge warty nose covered in broken veins.
- One side of his immaculate jacket was soaked through and spiked with broken glass.
- They're covered in broken glass.
- Tossed between them like a broken toy fit only for the dustbin.
THESAURUS
if something is broken, it does not work properly: · I think my watch is broken.· The camera got broken when we were on holiday.· The birds had gotten into the cabin through a broken window.· In the corner of the room were a broken chair and a rickety old desk.
[not before noun] if a machine, especially one used by the public, is out of order, it is not working for a temporary period: · Every phone I tried was out of order.· The toilets were all out of order.
[not before noun] if a computer system is down, it is not working: · The computer system was down all afternoon, so we went home.go down (=stop working): · The network went down at 11:00 and we lost the whole morning’s work.
(also on the fritz American English) [not before noun] informal if a piece of electrical equipment is on the blink, it sometimes works and sometimes does not: · My TV’s on the blink again.go on the blink/fritz: · The car’s air conditioning went on the fritz just as we reached Dallas.
used when saying that a car, machine etc does not work properly and you do not know why: · There’s something wrong with my car; I think it might be the battery.· There was something wrong with the photocopier, so we called in the service company.have something wrong with it: · If the VCR has something wrong with it, take it back to the store.
informal used when saying that a car, machine etc is completely broken and cannot be repaired: · I’m afraid the bike’s had it.
Longman Language Activatorobjects/cups/furniture etc something that is broken has become separated into pieces, for example by being hit or dropped: · The floor was covered in broken glass.· This suitcase is no good - the handle's broken.· The birds had gotten into the cabin through a broken window.· In the corner of the room were a broken chair and a rickety old desk.
a cup, plate etc that is chipped has a small piece broken off the edge of it: · Why do I always get the chipped cup?· Don't use that plate - it's chipped.
something that is cracked is not completely broken, but has cracks on its surface as a result of damage: · Throw that jug away. It's cracked.· The tiles were old and cracked.· He's been driving around with a cracked windshield for months.
British informal /busted especially American, informal broken: · I can't carry all the shopping home in this bag - it's bust.· The door's bust again. Can you get it fixed?· In the yard, Miguel found a writing table with a busted leg.
bones a broken bone has been cracked or separated into pieces: · One little boy had a broken arm.· I think my ankle's broken.
a fractured bone has been cracked, but it has not completely separated: · The X-ray revealed that she had several fractured ribs.
American informal broken: · Julie's arm is busted and she can't take care of herself.
machines, cars, phones etc that do not work if a machine or piece of equipment is not working or doesn't work , it does not do the job it is supposed to do: · The phone's not working.· Our car isn't working at the moment, so I've been taking the bus.· The elevator doesn't seem to be working - let's take the stairs.· The headlights don't work and the brakes need fixing.· This camera doesn't work - I'll have to take it back to the store.
if there is something wrong with a machine, car etc, it does not work properly, but you do not know exactly why: · There's something wrong with my car: I think it might be the battery.· There was something wrong with the photocopier, so we called in the service company.have something wrong with something: · If the VCR has something wrong with it, take it back to the store.
not working - use this especially about a small machine or a small piece of equipment: · "What's the time?" "I don't know, my watch is broken."· I think the doorbell must be broken - I didn't hear anything.· a broken dishwasher
if a machine, especially one used by the public, is out of order it is not working for a temporary period: · Every phone I tried was out of order.· The toilets are almost always out of order.
especially British if a vehicle or machine is out of action , it cannot be used at the moment because it is broken: · Three of our tanks are out of action.· These planes may be out of action for a week, just for regular maintenance.· Our washing machine's out of action at the moment, so we use the laundry down the road.
if a computer system is down , it is not working: · The computer system was down all afternoon so we went home.go down (=stop working): · The network went down at 11:00 and we lost the whole morning's work.
informal also be on the fritz American informal if a piece of electrical equipment such as a television or washing machine is on the blink or on the fritz , it sometimes works and sometimes does not: · My TV's on the blink again.go on the blink/fritz: · The car's air conditioning went on the fritz just as we reached Dallas.
informal a machine, car etc that is temperamental works some of the time but not all the time: · Jo's car is very temperamental in the mornings. Sometimes it starts and sometimes it doesn't.· The only heating was from a temperamental iron stove in the centre of each hut.
British is gone American if you say that part of a machine, especially a car, has gone or is gone , you mean that it has stopped working properly: · I'm not sure what's wrong with my car - I think the clutch has gone.· If the gearbox is gone it'll cost you a fortune.· "What's that noise?" "It sounds like the suspension's going."
if you say that a machine has had it you mean that it is completely broken and cannot be repaired: · I'm afraid the stereo's had it.
British busted especially American broken or badly damaged: · Our television's bust, and so's the radio.· There's no point in trying to mend it, it's completely bust.· You can't record anything - the VCR's busted.· a busted air-conditioner
to stop working if something goes wrong with a machine, it stops working normally - use this especially about complicated equipment, when you do not know what the problem is: · Who'll fix my computer if something goes wrong?something goes wrong with: · Occasionally something went wrong with the projector and the movie was canceled.· Something's gone wrong with my washing machine.
if a car, bus, train, or large machine breaks down , it stops working completely: · She was late for the meeting because her car broke down.· The elevators in this building are always breaking down.
if a computer crashes , it suddenly stops working, and information is often lost because of this: · I installed the new program and my computer crashed.· Hundreds of hospital records were wiped out when the network crashed.
if an engine cuts out , it suddenly stops working: · Every time Mark slowed down the engine cut out.· I started to go up the hill and the engine just cut out on me.
especially written if a part of a machine or of a piece of electrical equipment fails , it stops working: · The driver of the car claims that his brakes failed and he was unable to stop.· In the last ten minutes of the game, one of the television cameras failed.· One of the engines failed at 30,000 feet.
formal to stop working properly: · This is a sign that the computer's hard disk is malfunctioning.· Both satellites entered orbit but quickly malfunctioned.
British informal if a machine packs up , it stops working, especially because it is old: · When this record player packs up, I'll buy a CD player.· They won't know what to do if a pipe bursts or if the heater packs up.
to stop a machine from working to stop a machine from working by damaging it, especially by damaging it so badly that it cannot be used again: · One of the kids put some rocks in the blender and broke it.· I don't know what she did, but she managed to break the sewing machine.
written to make a machine or a system unable to work: · The robbers had disabled the bank's security system.· The tank's navigational system had been disabled during a grenade attack.
to deliberately stop a machine or piece of equipment from working properly by damaging it, especially because you want to stop an enemy from using it: · An electronic mine exploded under the ship and put it out of action.· Reporting from the area was difficult even before terrorists put all the telephone lines out of action.
also immobilise British to stop a vehicle from working, especially a military vehicle: · Demonstrators immobilized tanks using gasoline bombs.· Kendrick had only a few minutes to immobilize the aircraft.
not broken or damaged not broken or damaged, in spite of being hit, dropped etc: · Despite the bombing, the house was still intact.· The toys have to be intact in their original boxes or they're not worth anything.· Our furniture survived the long journey more or less intact.
if something arrives or is moved in one piece , it does not get broken in spite of being moved: · I don't know how we got the piano down in one piece!· The china arrived all in one piece, thank God.
to break into pieces · She dropped a plate and it broke.· My watchband has broken.· The ice broke and they both fell through.· The cam belt broke and ruined the engine.
if something gets broken , someone breaks it accidentally: · If you leave your toys on the floor, they'll get broken.· A few of the cups got broken while we were moving house.· When her grandchildren visit, she puts away anything she doesn't want to get broken.
if something cracks , it breaks slightly so that lines appear in its surface: · The bell cracked after many years of use.· A few windows cracked from the heat during the fire.· The pipeline had cracked a long time before the oil spill occurred.
if something such as a floor, wall, or bridge gives way , it finally breaks because there is a lot of pressure or weight on it: · He was changing a light bulb when the ladder gave way.· The crowd surged forward and the fence gave way.· The whole side of the hill gave way after a week of heavy rain.
informal if something busts , it breaks: · The toy is made of a balloon in a cloth sack that can be hit without busting.bust open (=break in such a way that what is inside can come out): · His suitcase busted open, and everything went all over the floor in the hotel lobby.
to speak a little of a foreign language to speak enough of a language to be able to buy things, ask for help etc: · He went to Tokyo and within a few weeks knew enough Japanese to get by.get by in: · I've just bought a book called 'Get By In Portuguese'.
to be able to speak a few words of a language: · "Do you speak Korean?" "I only know a few words."know a few words of: · I used to know a few words of German but I've forgotten them all.
to be able to speak a small but useful amount of a language: · Martin is fluent in French, and also has a smattering of Swedish.
: broken English/French etc English, French etc that is spoken slowly and badly by someone who only knows a little of the language: · The two students, one Chinese, the other Greek, communicated in broken English.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Do you know how the phone got broken (=became broken)? Wrap it up well so it doesn’t get broken (=become broken) in the mail.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES You might get hurt if you stand there. Mind the camera doesn’t get broken. My dad got killed in a car crash.
Do you know how the phone got broken (=became broken)? Wrap it up well so it doesn’t get broken (=become broken) in the mail.· He was taken to hospital with a broken arm.
· The doctor thought that I had a broken bone in my wrist.· Luckily the bone wasn't broken.
You might get hurt if you stand there. Mind the camera doesn’t get broken. My dad got killed in a car crash.· She cleaned up the broken glass with a dustpan and brush.
(=feeling very sad because of a problem in love)· I wonder how many broken hearts Carlo was responsible for.
(=a family in which the parents have separated)· Many of the youngsters came from broken homes.
· After two failed marriages, she was not willing to risk marrying again.
(=one that is not straight because the bone has been broken by a hit or fall)· a boxer with a broken nose
(=one that has not been kept)· There have been too many broken promises.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN· Lynne Deeley suffered a crushed pelvis, multiple fractures to her leg, a broken ankle and head injuries.· Flanker Len Dineen received a broken ankle, and no.8 Victor Donnelly knee ligament damage.· She suffered a broken ankle and was also treated at Dryburn.· Another man had his leg in plaster, recovering from a broken ankle.· It was just 12 months ago that he sustained a broken ankle against Leigh tomorrow's home opponents.
· This patient I have to see is a monkey with a suspected broken arm.· He'd been hit by a car three weeks before, and he had a broken arm and pelvis.· The schoolboy sent back to class with a broken arm.· They stepped forward, and raised Chant by his broken arms.· The boy with the broken arm had fainted once; now he was sitting against a wall, crying.· Its tail dangled useless, like the broken arm of a bendy rubber doll.· Bernice could see Thomas trying to prise his hands apart, but his broken arm proved to be a burden.· Along with the souvenirs, he brought home a reminder of a broken arm.
· They had flown into the atmosphere and had carried his broken body to the other side of the castle.· I can see the broken bodies, the gush of blood.· The chief inspector suddenly understood that the historian's self-important but indomitable spirit was housed in a broken body.· Another crumpled, broken body lay to one side.· His broken body, linked to an electronic muscle stimulator, twitched involuntarily.· Jean couldn't take her eyes off the broken body, and felt the warm tears coursing down her cheeks.· She wore a corset to support her broken body, and she lived to be only 47.· The oriental gazed down at the broken body of his defeated enemy.
· Mr Robson suffered broken bones in both hands.· Picture by Brendan O'Sullivan Few of us get through childhood without a broken bone or a few stitches.· It can cope with a cold, fight off a serious illness and with time, even mend a broken bone.· That's what a grave was: a dump for torn flesh, broken bones.· In the 1930s top personalities from the wider sporting world took their bruises and broken bones to Highbury.· People were impostors and children were nothing but the promise of broken bones.· But then it took broken bones longer to heal as age crept into them.· Gibbs and Andrew had X-rays, which revealed no broken bones.
· Plastic bags can choke animals and broken bottles can cut them.· Under and among the brambles was litter of all kinds, half bricks, broken bottles, sodden sweet papers.· In the worst incident, 300 yobs showered police with broken bottles and bricks then looted shops in the centre of Coventry.· Oliffe has already admitted keeping 300 sheep in pens surrounded by broken bottles and barbed wire in Gloucester.· As I dodged down the yard I noticed the broken bottle lying in the drain.· He also denied having the broken bottle.
· But before Rainbow can reply, a star goes nova on her near-side window, courtesy of a broken brick.· Fraction by fraction it rose, then a dirt-streaked brown forehead appeared over the broken bricks.· The broken bricks now lie in the living room.· There was something sad about Spring Mill now, with its crazed windows and its broken bricks, something a bit sinister.
· Some of them used broken chairs to hit people.· While the adults sat on their forms we sat ourselves down on an assortment of broken chairs borrowed from the neighbours.· Now old buckets, boots, broken chairs and even prams are a source of information.· He could be content sitting cross-legged, weeding a flower bed, or repairing a broken chair.· He moved a pile of old furniture and found a broken chair with its back missing.
· Rounding of broken ends was produced within 60 hours and became pronounced after 192 hours.· Two brown pelicans flapped past as I began shaping the broken ends of Masquerade's shattered planking.
· She had told him about her broken engagement and how deeply hurt and wary she had felt after it.· And why had he been so angry and contemptuous, so scathing about her broken engagement?· For the first time in weeks the thought of her broken engagement hadn't been lurking to ambush her.
· The other reportedly had his skull fractured in 15 places, broken fingers and numerous stab wounds.· First, it was his knee, then an achilles and finally a broken finger.· Watkinson is resting his broken finger.
· There was glass - broken glass I got cut ... but ... Come on.· They're covered in broken glass.· You gon na repay the fines, mend the broken glass?· You may not, however, top your wall with broken glass or barbed wire without the consent of your local authority.· He was shovelling up the broken glass on to a piece of cardboard.· It stuck, only a third open, wedged on broken glass on the floor.· At eight o'clock she cleaned up the broken glass and at nine she rang Gwen.
· The system caused many a broken heart over the generations.· It was the universal panacea for a broken heart.· Harald died three months later, I believe of a broken heart.· This was after David had split up with Hermione and was nursing a broken heart.· Eating never fixed a broken heart!· Neither miscarriages nor broken hearts, feuds or fainting fits, had ever managed to extinguish the footlights.· Some said she'd left with a broken heart.· No broken heart, you're free.
· They came from broken homes and were desperate to help struggling mums.· Helen knew plenty about broken homes, because she came from one.· He was the product of a broken home and therefore a single-parent child.· Over 28 years I've had two broken marriages and broken homes, family and friends.· The majority of offenders do not come from disturbed or broken homes, and many broken homes do not produce delinquents.· The Foundation is now dedicated to sheltering young girls from broken homes.
· He was detained in Middlesbrough General Hospital with a broken jaw and lacerations.· She had a broken jaw and cheekbone.· He was knocked out in a brawl at a Hollywood restaurant, suffering a broken jaw and three shattered teeth.· The older McNab fell to the ground with a broken jaw.· He has a broken jaw and other facial injuries and is in the neurological ward of Middlesbrough General Hospital.· Another badger has suffered a broken jaw.· By 4 am Gary Humphreys was dead, having suffered a broken jaw and choked to death on his own blood.
· He received serious head injuries and a broken leg in the collision on the B1278 near Segefield Hospital.· A sprain or a broken leg.· To tell the truth, I doubt they would have noticed had she crawled into the house with a broken leg.· His career has been hampered by injury, most noticeably a broken leg in 1983.· But trainer Hannon said any stiffness would have had no connection with the broken leg which led to Mr Brooks' death.· One has a broken neck and two broken legs.· He suffered a broken leg, a displaced ankle and lacerations to his head which required five stitches.· He escaped with a broken leg and pulled himself from the wreckage before Crowfield emergency services arrived from the club.
· When the prefect learned tbat Hadrian had been baptized, he had him broken limb from limb.
· The surviving remnants of the eighteenth-century building are shown in solid black, the parts which have vanished as broken lines.· In the demand drawing the broken line is pushed to a different level instead of being drawn to it.· The solid lines of certainty gave way to the broken lines of uncertainty.· In Figure 3.1a the organisations are shown as solid lines, and the direct payments to them as broken lines.· The curves should be compared with the broken lines.· On this plan, the missing link with Ingleborough Cave, since found, is indicated by a broken line.· The figures against the broken lines correspond to the packing percentages from which a 90/10 case file has received random additions.
· By 1947, Fred was a broken man addicted to alcohol and the treble chance.· He returned a few days later a broken man.· He was for some time a broken man.· In I771 he returned to Paris, a broken man.· Sir Thomas Bouch died, a broken man, four months later.· Now a broken man, Levitt is on bail until October 14.· It was an enormous humiliation and Galileo was left a broken man, almost mentally deranged by the months of pressure.· A broken man, pale and much given to outbursts of weeping, a man trembling on the threshold of self-murder.
· That and alcoholism and broken marriages.· Cathy was a too-real story about inner-city squalor, broken marriages, homelessness and a shot-to-hell welfare system.· Childless men, especially those with a broken marriage, were more likely to be ambitious, highly educated professionals.· And I've seen too much unhappiness caused by broken marriages.· The two broken marriages and then the obvious fact that he didn't think much of her.· She is entitled to sympathy for a broken marriage which was not purely of her doing.· Over 28 years I've had two broken marriages and broken homes, family and friends.
· Mind you're not found lying at the bottom of the steps with a broken neck like Amy Robsart.· One has a broken neck and two broken legs.· Robert dived into the shallow end of the pool at Nettlebed and sustained a broken neck and back injuries.· Both creatures collapsed with broken necks.
· And while all this brouhaha was going on Richard Harris was getting up Heston's famously broken nose.· Carwyn was flying home, Ted was working on his self-esteem, Richie was nursing a broken nose.· He suffered a broken nose and bruising.· He screamed in agony and fell to his knees, cradling his broken nose between his bloodied hands.· Horrified shoppers watched as Darren Caygill was knocked to the ground, suffering a broken nose.· Clive wanted to see the manager with a broken nose, blood on his dicky bow and frilly shirt front.· He had one clear memory of a fight in some dive, a broken nose, a throat ready for cutting.
· Lamarr jumped back dropping the broken pieces and with blood all over his hand and face.· They picked their way through broken pieces of furniture, their feet crunching across splintered glass and wood.· Stumbling to his feet, he fumbled with the broken pieces, trying to staunch the gas flow.· And the rest, some on boards and some on broken pieces of the ship.· They were fragments, broken pieces of some nonsense puzzle, adding to nothing.
· Many people wonder for how long cosmetic accounting can hide broken promises.· Aides are gambling that his broken promise of a tax cut on the middle class was never taken seriously.· My whole life is a series of broken promises.· Professional: The trail of broken promises at home is mirrored by a trail of broken contracts at work.
· Robert Cunningham, 35, who suffered a broken rib in the fracas, admitted assault.· A postmortem showed she had 55 injuries, including broken ribs and bruises to head, neck and body.· Read in studio A misadventure verdict's been recorded on a man who died in hospital after being admitted with broken ribs.· Although he had suffered severe head injuries and eight broken ribs, he was found to have died from drowning.· Apart from a broken rib, massive bruises all over my body, and slight concussion, I was in one piece.· And Eve's in a hospital ward with broken ribs and concussion and all kinds of things.· He sustained a broken rib and pulled ligaments in his right leg.
· The Doctor darted over to a pile of broken rocks.
· Perhaps he thought she was refusing because of his broken tooth.· Around and among them lounged villainous men with pocked faces and broken teeth.· I kicked my heels and ran my eye along the ruff of mountains surrounding Cuzco, like a tongue over broken teeth.· One finger curled into her broken tooth.
· They were three storeys high, hardly six foot apart, with broken windows repaired with paper and rags.· When she pushes it open, and switches on the light, she finds the breeze blowing through broken windows.· A bird had gained entry through one of the broken windows and flown helplessly around until it collided with her.· The building was the dirtiest I had ever seen, with broken windows and dusty doors.· Sadly, it already had a dented side with a broken window.· I got my own home and it ain't got a broken window.· Jack had experienced broken windows and other similar nuisances, but nothing else.· If I had a broken window I wouldn't put my fingers through it - no way.
· Several stitches at the edge of her eye, and a broken wrist.· He escaped with just a broken wrist and is recovering in Wolverhampton Manor Hospital.· The broken wrist happened in the warm up before the Sheff Utd game.· The university's list of injuries also includes a suspected broken wrist.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► a broken society► broken English/French etc
- a broken marriage
- And I've seen too much unhappiness caused by broken marriages.
- Cathy was a too-real story about inner-city squalor, broken marriages, homelessness and a shot-to-hell welfare system.
- Childless men, especially those with a broken marriage, were more likely to be ambitious, highly educated professionals.
- Like Kathy, she had found great spiritual consolation at Holy Trinity in the wake of a broken marriage.
- That and alcoholism and broken marriages.
- The Isle of Skye promises to be a good spot to escape the rigors of work and a broken marriage.
- The two broken marriages and then the obvious fact that he didn't think much of her.
- This new reality helped engender a more sensitive ecclesial approach to the plight of Catholics in broken marriages.
- According to legend, anyone who ever fired the weapon died of a broken heart or cardiac arrest.
- Harald died three months later, I believe of a broken heart.
- He has to find a way to heal a broken heart and help hold his family together.
- It was part sadness, like a broken heart.
- It was the universal panacea for a broken heart.
- Sindham dies and then Ana dies of a broken heart.
- The system caused many a broken heart over the generations.
- This was after David had split up with Hermione and was nursing a broken heart.
- He was the product of a broken home and therefore a single-parent child.
- Helen knew plenty about broken homes, because she came from one.
- J., the product of a broken home.
- Over 28 years I've had two broken marriages and broken homes, family and friends.
- The majority of offenders do not come from disturbed or broken homes, and many broken homes do not produce delinquents.
- They came from broken homes and were desperate to help struggling mums.
- Vitro knows all about being dirt poor in the rural South and growing up in a broken home.
WORD FAMILYnounbreakoutbreakbreakageadjectivebreakable ≠ unbreakablebroken ≠ unbrokenverbbreak
1
piece of equipment not working properly: The CD player’s broken again. Do you know how the phone got broken (=became broken)?2object in small pieces because it has been hit, dropped etc: Mind the broken glass. Wrap it up well so it doesn’t get broken (=become broken) in the mail.3bone cracked because you have had an accident: a badly broken leg Gibbs had an X-ray, which revealed no broken bones.4not continuous interrupted and not continuous: a broken white line a long noisy night of broken sleep5person extremely weak mentally or physically because you have suffered a lot: He returned from the war a broken man.6broken English/French etc if you speak in broken English, French etc, you speak slowly and make a lot of mistakes because you know only a little of the language7broken home a family that no longer lives together because the parents have divorced: The majority of offenders do not come from broken homes.8broken marriage a marriage that has ended because the husband and wife do not live together anymore9a broken heart a feeling of extreme sadness, especially because someone you love has died or left you: I reckon she died of a broken heart.10a broken society a society which has many social and financial problems: This report paints a depressing picture of Britain's broken society.THESAURUSbroken if something is broken, it does not work properly: · I think my watch is broken.· The camera got broken when we were on holiday.· The birds had gotten into the cabin through a broken window.· In the corner of the room were a broken chair and a rickety old desk.out of order [not before noun] if a machine, especially one used by the public, is out of order, it is not working for a temporary period: · Every phone I tried was out of order.· The toilets were all out of order.down [not before noun] if a computer system is down, it is not working: · The computer system was down all afternoon, so we went home.go down (=stop working): · The network went down at 11:00 and we lost the whole morning’s work.on the blink (also on the fritz American English) [not before noun] informal if a piece of electrical equipment is on the blink, it sometimes works and sometimes does not: · My TV’s on the blink again.go on the blink/fritz: · The car’s air conditioning went on the fritz just as we reached Dallas.there’s something wrong with something used when saying that a car, machine etc does not work properly and you do not know why: · There’s something wrong with my car; I think it might be the battery.· There was something wrong with the photocopier, so we called in the service company.have something wrong with it: · If the VCR has something wrong with it, take it back to the store.something has had it informal used when saying that a car, machine etc is completely broken and cannot be repaired: · I’m afraid the bike’s had it.