broken
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broken
cracked
broken
bro·ken¹ /'brəʊkən/ past participle of BREAK
broken² adj 1 damaged, spoilt, or made useless by breaking:
Be careful of the broken glass. | a broken clock/leg | a
broken-down car (=in a state of disrepair) 2 not fulfilled;
disregarded: a broken promise/agreement 3 discontinuous;
interrupted: a broken journey/night's sleep | broken
clouds 4 made weak or discouraged, especially by misfor-
tune, ill-health etc: a broken man (=without hope or
confidence) | a broken spirit | a broken heart 5 [A] destroyed
by the separation of a husband and wife: a broken mar-
riage 6 (of a language other than your own) imperfectly
spoken or written: I managed to explain it to them in my
broken French. —ly adv —ness n [U]
,broken-'hearted adj HEARTBROKEN —ly adv
,broken 'home n a family that no longer lives together
because the parents are DIVORCED or separated: children from
broken homes | He came from a broken home but is now a
successful footballer.
bro·ker¹ /'brəʊkə/ n a person who does business for
another, for example in buying and selling business shares
or foreign money: an insurance broker | a commodity broker
→ see also POWER BROKER
broker² v [T] to make it possible for an agreement to be
made between opposing groups or countries, by first discuss-
ing the details of the agreement with each side: The peace
settlement was brokered by a US senator.
bro·ker·age /'brəʊkərɪdʒ/ n [U] 1 the (place of) business of
a broker: a brokerage firm/house 2 the sum of money
charged by a broker
brol·ly /'brɒliǁ'brɑːli/ n BrE infml for UMBRELLA
bro·mide /'brəʊmaɪd/ n 1 [C,U] a chemical compound used
in medicine to calm excitement 2 [C] fml rare a statement or
idea without newness or freshness; PLATITUDE 3 [C] tech a
photograph on specially treated paper used for printing: the
bromides of a book
bron·chi·al /'brɒŋkiəlǁ'brɑːŋ-/ adj of the bronchial tubes:
bronchial pneumonia
'bronchial tube n [usually pl.] any of the branches or divi-
sions of the bronchus
bron·chi·tis /brɒŋ'kaɪtɪsǁbrɑŋ-/ n [U] an illness (INFLAM-
MATION) of the bronchial tubes that brings a cough and blocks
up the nose —tic /'kɪtɪk/ adj: a bronchitic cough
bron·chus /'brɒŋkəsǁ'brɑːŋ-/ n pl. -chi /kaɪ/ either of the
two branches connecting the WINDPIPE (=breath tube) with
the lungs
bron·co /'brɒŋkəǁ'brɑːŋ-/ n pl. -cos a wild or half-wild
horse of the western US
Bron·son, Charles /'brɒnsənǁ'brɑːn-/ (1921-2003) a US
actor famous for appearing in violent films, including DEATH
WISH (1974). He also appeared in The Magnificent Seven
(1960), The Great Escape (1963) and The Dirty Dozen (1967).
Bron·të /'brɒnti, -teɪ'brɑːn-/ the family name of three
sisters from Yorkshire in the north of England, who wrote
some of the most famous novels in English. Charlotte Brontë
(1816-55) wrote Jane Eyre, Emily Brontë (1818-48) wrote Wuther-
ing Heights, and Anne Brontë (1820-49) wrote The Tenant of
Wildfell Hall
bron·to·sau·rus /ˌbrɒntə'sɔːrəsǁˌbrɑn-/ n pl. -ri /raɪ/ a
very large four-footed plant-eating DINOSAUR
Bronx, the /brɒŋksǁbrɑːŋks/ a COUNTY, and one of the five
BOROUGHS, of New York City. It contains the ZOO and Yankee
Stadium, which is where the New York Yankees play BASE-
BALL. It is thought of as a poor area of New York with a lot of
crime, but this is not true of all of the Bronx.
Bronx 'cheer n AmE slang a rude sound made by putting your
tongue out and blowing; RASPBERRY
bronze¹ /brɒnzǁbrɑːnz/ n 1 [U] (the dark reddish-brown
colour of) a hard metal made mainly of copper and tin: a
bronze statue | bronze autumn leaves 2 [C] a work of art
made of bronze: many fine bronzes in this collection 3 [C] a
BRONZE MEDAL
bronze² v [T] to give the appearance or colour of bronze to:
bronzed by the sun
'Bronze Age, the the period in history, about 4000-6000
years ago, when people used bronze for making tools and
weapons, before they discovered how to make iron →
compare IRON AGE, STONE AGE —Bronze Age adj: a Bronze
Age burial ground
,bronze 'medal also bronze n a usually round flat piece of
bronze given to the person who comes third in a race or
competition: She won the bronze medal in the women's 100
metres.
brooch /brəʊtʃ/ also pin AmE — n a small decorative object
worn on women's clothes, fastened on with a pin → com-
pare BADGE
brood¹ /bruːd/ n [C+sing./pl. v] 1 a family of young creatures,
especially birds: a brood of ducklings 2 infml the children of
one family: She brought the whole brood with her.
brood² v [I] 1 [(over, about)] to spend time thinking anxiously
or sadly about something; worry or PONDER: Don't just sit
there brooding (over your problems) - do something! | He
brooded for several days over what she had said. 2 [(over)] to
hang closely: Dark clouds were brooding over the city. —er n
brood³ adj [A] tech kept for giving birth to young: a brood
mare
brood·y /'bruːdi/ adj 1 (of a mother bird) wanting to sit on
her eggs: (fig.) Anne always gets broody when she sees a baby
(=she wants one of her own) 2 [F] sad and silent because of
self-pity, unhappy thoughts etc —ily adv —iness n [U]
brook¹ /brʊk/ n a small stream
brook² v [T usually in negatives] fml to allow or accept without
complaining; TOLERATE: He would brook no interruptions
from his listeners.
Brooke, Ru·pert /brʊk, 'ruːpət-rpərt/ (1887-1915) a British
poet who was a soldier in World War I, known especially for
his poems about war and his romantic poems about Eng-
land, including The Old Vicarage, Grantchester.
Brooke 'Bond trademark a British company that makes vari-
ous food products but is best known for making tea, includ-
ing PG TIPS.
Brook·ings In·sti·tu·tion, the /'brʊkɪŋz ɪnstɪtjuːʃən
,-tuː-/ a US organization based in Washington D.C., which
examines social and economic problems
Brook·lyn /'brʊklɪn/ an industrial and international port
area of New York City, and one of the city's five BOROUGHS. It
is known as an area where people of many different races live.
People from Brooklyn often have a very strong ACCENT (=way
of pronouncing words) which is easy to recognize.
,Brooklyn 'Bridge, the a bridge connecting Brooklyn with
MANHATTAN
CULTURAL NOTE In the US there is an old joke that
IMMIGRANTS arriving in New York City could be sold the
Brooklyn Bridge because they did not know the city's
well-known buildings or the customs of the people who
live there. So 'being sold the Brooklyn Bridge' has come
to mean being fooled in a business deal.
Brooks, Garth /brʊks, gɑːθǁgɑːrθ/ (1956-) a US singer who
was one of the most popular COUNTRY AND WESTERN singer
of the 1990s. His songs include Ropin' the Wind.
Brooks, Mel /mel/ (1926-) a US actor and film director
known for his humorous films such as The Producers (1968,
Blazing Saddles (1974), and High Anxiety (1978)
Brook·side /'brʊksaɪd/ a former SOAP OPERA on British
television, about a group of people who live in Liverpool. It
was known for dealing with serious social questions affect-
ing the lives of its characters, such as love between people of
the same sex.
broom /bruːm, brʊm/ n 1 [C] a large sweeping brush