breach
breach
(brēch) noun
1.
a. An opening, a tear, or a rupture. b. A gap or rift, especially in or as if in a solid structure such as a dike or fortification.
2. A violation or infraction, as of a law, a legal obligation, or a promise.
3. A breaking up or disruption of friendly relations; an estrangement.
4. A leap of a whale from the water.
5. The breaking of waves or surf.
verb
breached, breaching, breaches
verb
, transitive
1.
To make a hole or gap in; break through.
2.
To break or violate (an agreement, for example).
verb
, intransitive
To leap from the water: waiting for the whale to breach.
[Middle English breche, from Old English brēc.]
Synonyms:
breach, infraction, violation, transgression, trespass, infringement. These nouns denote an act or instance of breaking a law or regulation or failing to fulfill a duty, obligation, or promise. Breach and infraction are the least specific: Revealing the secret would be a breach of trust. Infractions of the rules will not be tolerated. A violation is an infraction committed willfully and with complete lack of regard for legal, moral, or ethical considerations: She failed to appear for the rehearsal, in flagrant violation of her contract. Transgression refers most often to a violation of divine or moral law: "The children shall not be punished for the father's transgression" (Daniel Defoe). As it refers to the breaking of a statute, trespass implies willful intrusion on another's rights, possessions, or person: "In the limited and confined sense[trespass]signifies no more than an entry on another man's ground without a lawful authority" (William Blackstone). Infringement is most frequently used specifically to denote encroachment on another's rights, such as those granted by a copyright: "Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom" (William Pitt the Younger).