Hello everyone, I hope you are all good. Welcome to the Phrasal Verb Series – Day 3! In Day 2 we finished the BEAR family and made a start on BREAK (break into, break in, break out). Today we complete the BREAK family — the single most tested phrasal verb group in SSC CGL, CHSL, CPO, MTS, Bank and Railway exams. Read the story once, learn the meanings, then play the flashcards and take the quiz. Ten minutes, and these are yours for life.
🗺️ The Whole BREAK Family at a Glance
Screenshot this one picture. If you can rebuild it from memory tomorrow, Day 3 is done.
📖 The Story — Arun’s Second Winter in Delhi
Arun had been in Delhi for a year now. The tiny room in Mukherjee Nagar was colder this winter, and one freezing morning his old geyser broke down completely. He laughed about it later, but that day he sat on the floor and broke down — a whole year of pressure came out at once.
His study group had started to break up. Two boys had gone home; one had taken a private job. When the group finally broke up after the December mock test, Arun felt truly alone.
His father called that night and asked him to break off his preparation and return to the village shop. Arun refused politely. He did not want to break with the promise he had made to himself two years ago.
So he changed his method. He stopped studying twelve hours a day and started breaking down every previous-year paper into small topics. Slowly, in February, he broke through — his score jumped from 118 to 156.
Money was still tight. His tuition income and his expenses barely broke even each month. But he had learnt to break away from the crowd: no comparison, no noise, no doom-scrolling.
On result day the servers were slow. Then the page loaded, and the whole corridor broke loose — shouting, running, hugging. Arun stepped outside. The morning sun broke forth over the rooftops, and for the first time in two years, he had nothing left to prove.
🎞️ Arun’s Story in 6 Pictures
Same story, one panel per verb. Look at the picture first, then say the phrasal verb out loud.
📝 Today’s Phrasal Verbs — Meaning, Hindi & Examples
Hindi: खराब हो जाना / भावुक होकर रो पड़ना / छोटे-छोटे हिस्सों में बाँटना
🧠 Memory Trick: DOWN सोचो — मशीन down (बंद), आँसू down (गिरते हुए), बड़ा topic टुकड़ों में down। तीनों अर्थ एक ही दिशा में!
- Meaning 1: (of a machine or vehicle) to stop working
- Meaning 2: to lose emotional control; to start crying
- Meaning 3: to separate something into smaller parts for analysis
- Meaning 4: (of talks or a system) to fail completely
Our bus broke down near Panipat. • She broke down when she heard the news. • Let us break down the syllabus topic-wise. • The peace talks broke down.
malfunctioncollapsegive wayanalyse
Hindi: संबंध तोड़ना / तितर-बितर होना / समाप्त होना
🧠 Memory Trick: UP सोचो — टुकड़े हवा में up उड़कर बिखर गए। रिश्ता, भीड़, meeting — सब बिखरना = break up।
- Meaning 1: to end a relationship or marriage
- Meaning 2: to disperse; to make a crowd scatter
- Meaning 3: (of a meeting, school term) to come to an end
They broke up after five years. • Police broke up the protest. • School breaks up on 20th December.
separatedispersesplit updisband
Hindi: अचानक बंद कर देना / तोड़कर अलग करना
🧠 Memory Trick: OFF = switch OFF। बात, रिश्ता या engagement अचानक off कर देना — बटन दबाते ही बंद!
- Meaning 1: to end something suddenly (talks, engagement, relations)
- Meaning 2: to stop speaking abruptly
- Meaning 3: to detach a piece from something
India broke off diplomatic relations with that country. • He broke off in the middle of his sentence. • She broke off a piece of bread.
discontinueseverterminatesnap off
Hindi: बाधा पार कर आगे बढ़ना / सफलता प्राप्त करना
🧠 Memory Trick: THROUGH = आर-पार। दीवार के आर-पार निकल गए = बाधा पार, सफलता मिली।
- Meaning 1: to force a way through an obstacle or barrier
- Meaning 2: to achieve success after long effort; to make a major discovery
The protesters broke through the police barricade. • Scientists have broken through in cancer research.
penetrateovercomesurmount
Hindi: अलग हो जाना / पकड़ से भाग निकलना
🧠 Memory Trick: AWAY = दूर। भीड़ से, पार्टी से, पकड़ से — दूर भाग निकलना।
- Meaning 1: to escape from someone’s hold or control
- Meaning 2: to leave a group, party or tradition and become independent
The thief broke away from the constable. • A few members broke away and formed a new party.
escapesecedesplit from
Hindi: न लाभ न हानि की स्थिति में आना
🧠 Memory Trick: EVEN = बराबर। आमदनी = खर्च, दोनों पलड़े even — न ऊपर न नीचे।
- Meaning: to reach a point where income equals expenditure — neither profit nor loss
The startup expects to break even by March 2027.
no profit no lossbalance out
Hindi: परंपरा/संबंध तोड़ देना
🧠 Memory Trick: जिसके WITH (साथ) थे, उसी से नाता तोड़ना — परंपरा, party या past।
- Meaning: to end a connection with a person, group, tradition or the past
The new government wants to break with old colonial practices.
abandonrenouncepart company with
Hindi: बंधन से छूट जाना / अनियंत्रित हो जाना
🧠 Memory Trick: LOOSE = ढीला। रस्सी ढीली हुई और — आज़ाद! नियंत्रण से बाहर।
- Meaning: to escape from being tied or controlled; (of chaos) to erupt suddenly
The bull broke loose in the market. • All hell broke loose after the announcement.
get freeescaperun wild
Hindi: अचानक प्रकट होना / फूट पड़ना
🧠 Memory Trick: FORTH = forward, आगे। सूरज बादल चीरकर आगे फूट पड़ा।
- Meaning: (literary) to emerge or burst out suddenly
The sun broke forth from behind the clouds. • He broke forth into laughter.
burst outemergeerupt
Hindi: शुरुआती झिझक दूर करना
🧠 Memory Trick: ICE = ठंडी चुप्पी। पहली बातचीत की बर्फ़ तोड़ो, माहौल गरम करो।
- Meaning: to say or do something that relieves initial tension or awkwardness
He told a joke to break the ice in the interview room.
ease tensionstart a conversation
⚡ Quick Revision Table
| Phrasal Verb | Core Meaning | Hindi | One-line Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Break down | Stop working / cry / analyse | खराब होना, रो पड़ना | The car broke down. |
| Break up | End relationship / disperse | संबंध तोड़ना | They broke up last year. |
| Break off | End abruptly / detach | अचानक बंद करना | He broke off the talks. |
| Break through | Overcome barrier / succeed | बाधा पार करना | She broke through at last. |
| Break away | Escape / separate from group | अलग होना | The state broke away. |
| Break even | No profit, no loss | न लाभ न हानि | The shop finally broke even. |
| Break with | End ties with tradition/person | परंपरा तोड़ना | He broke with his past. |
| Break loose | Get free / erupt | छूट जाना | The dog broke loose. |
| Break forth | Burst out suddenly | फूट पड़ना | The sun broke forth. |
| Break the ice | Remove awkwardness | झिझक दूर करना | A joke broke the ice. |
🃏 Flashcards — Tap to Flip
Tap each card, say the meaning aloud, then check.
खराब होना, रो पड़ना
संबंध तोड़ना
अचानक बंद करना
बाधा पार करना
अलग हो जाना
न लाभ न हानि
परंपरा तोड़ना
छूट जाना
फूट पड़ना
झिझक दूर करना
🎮 Game Zone — Play Until It Sticks
Two quick games. Play them once now and once tomorrow — that’s the whole trick.
🎯 Practice Quiz — 8 Questions
1. Our generator ________ during the power cut and we sat in the dark.
✅ broke down — a machine that stops working “breaks down”.
2. After months of losses, the bakery finally ________ in July.
✅ broke even — income equalled expenditure: no profit, no loss.
3. The two countries decided to ________ diplomatic relations after the attack.
✅ break off — to end something suddenly, especially talks or relations.
4. A group of leaders ________ from the party and formed their own front.
✅ broke away — to leave a group and become independent.
5. He told a small joke to ________ before the interview began.
✅ break the ice — to relieve initial awkwardness.
6. The researchers hope to ________ in malaria treatment this decade.
✅ break through — to make a major discovery or achieve success after long effort.
7. The police used water cannons to ________ the crowd.
✅ break up — to disperse or scatter a crowd.
8. The reformer wanted to ________ the caste practices of the past.
✅ break with — to end a connection with a tradition or the past.
✍️ Cloze Test — Fill in the Blanks
Type the correct phrasal verb (any tense) and press Check.
- She was so tired that she ________ and cried in front of everyone.
- All hell ________ when the result was announced.
- The company will ________ only after it sells 10,000 units.
- The prisoner tried to ________ from the guards.
- The moon ________ from behind the clouds and lit the field.
- Their engagement was ________ last month.
🏠 Homework — Write It Once, Remember It Forever
Take your notebook and write one original sentence for each of these, using your own life:
- break down (machine)
- break down (emotion)
- break up
- break off
- break through
- break away
- break even
- break with
- break loose
- break the ice
Writing beats re-reading. Ten sentences today are worth two hours of passive revision.
📅 Your 3-Touch Revision Plan
Spaced repetition beats cramming. Tick each touch as you complete it:
🔗 Continue the Series
That’s Day 3 done. The whole BREAK family is now in your pocket. Revise this page tomorrow morning for five minutes, then again after three days — that is all the spaced repetition you need. See you in Day 4 with the BRING family. Just focus more!! 💪
Hello! I’m Muskan Dhull, an education blogger passionate about making learning accessible and enjoyable for students preparing for competitive exams. . My goal is to provide students with effective learning methods and strategies that can help them to demystify the challenges of competitive exams and unlock the doors to success!