broke

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English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Ablauted form of break.

Verb

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broke

  1. simple past of break
  2. (archaic, nonstandard or poetic) past participle of break
    • 1853, John Welsey, The Works of the Rev. John Wesley, Volume 7‎[1], page 261:
      Accordingly, he came with a mob the next day; and after they had broke all the windows...
    • 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:
      The horse was the grey stallion he aye rode, the very beast he had ridden for many a wager with the wild lads of the Cross Keys. No man but himself durst back it, and it had lamed many a hostler lad and broke two necks in its day.
    • 1999 October 3, J. Stewart Burns, "Mars University", Futurama, season 2, episode 2, Fox Broadcasting Company
      Guenther: I guess the hat must have broke my fall.

Adjective

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broke (not generally comparable, comparative broker or more broke, superlative brokest or most broke)

  1. (informal) Financially ruined, bankrupt.
    • 1665 July 6, Samuel Pepys, Vol. VI, p. 150:
      It seems some of his Creditors have taken notice of it, and he was like to be broke yesterday in his absence.
  2. (informal) Without any money, penniless.
    dead broke; flat broke
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:impoverished
  3. (archaic, now informal) Broken.
    If it ain’t broke, don't fix it.
    • 1822, William Wolryche Whitmore, A Letter on the Present State and Future Prospects of Agriculture‎[2], page 53:
      If the farmer is seriously injured by the depressed state of the markets, his spirit is broke, and there must ensue a very general discredit with regard to the farming business;
    • 1973, “Photograph”, in Ringo, performed by Ringo Starr:
      I can't get used to living here / While my heart is broke, my tears I cry for you
    • 1983, Chicago Transit Authority, CTA Transit News, volume 36, page 8:
      Watkins notified the shop foreman immediately, whereupon the car was inspected and found to have a broke axle.
    • 2011, Mike Major, Fran Devereux Smith, Ranch-Horse Versatility: A Winner's Guide to Successful Rides:
      A broke horse tries to do anything I want, and that is expected of any horse.
  4. (nautical) Demoted, deprived of a commission.
    He was broke and rendered unfit to serve His Majesty at sea.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 2

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From Middle English broce, from Old English gebroc (“fragment”), from brecan (“to break”). Compare broken, past participle of break.[1] Compare also Scots brock (“a scrap of meat or bread”).[2]

Noun

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broke (plural brokes)

  1. (papermaking) Paper or board that is discarded and repulped during the manufacturing process.
    • 1880, James Dunbar, The Practical Papermaker: A Complete Guide to the Manufacture of Paper‎[3], page 12:
      If the broke accumulates, a larger proportion can be used in making coloured papers, otherwise the above quantity is sufiicient.
    • 1914, The World's Paper Trade Review Volume 62‎[4], page 204:
      Presumably, most of the brokes and waste were used up in this manner, and during the manufacture of the coarse stuff little or no attention was paid to either cleanliness or colour.
    • 2014 September 25, Judge Diane Wood, NCR Corp. v. George A. Whiting Paper Co.‎[5]:
      These mills purchase broke from other paper mills through middlemen and use it to make paper.
  2. (obsolete) A fragment, remains, a piece broken off.
    • 1855, January Searle, Poems, page 4:
      Why dost though linger, then, / To hear the flatteries of these men of rags? / These bankrupt beggar-men, / Whose riches are the broke meat in their bags?
References
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  1. ^ Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.
  2. ^ “brock, n2.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.

Etymology 3

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Back-formation from broker.

Verb

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broke (third-person singular simple present brokes, present participle broking, simple past and past participle broked)

  1. To act as a broker; to transact business for another; synonym of broker.
    Agents broking with various other carriers can offer additional options.
    • 1837, Comprising Reports of Cases in the Courts of Chancery […] :
      The only evidence of bill-broking is, that he has often been a party to bills of exchange
    • 1992, Philippe Moore, The 1992 guide to European equity markets:
      […] because the Spanish equity market was substantially over-broked even at the height of its bull market, with over 50 brokers servicing the market.
  2. (obsolete) To act as procurer in love matters; to pimp.
    • 1655 [1572], Luís de Camões, translated by Richard Fanshawe, The Lusiad, translation of original in Portuguese, Canto IX, stanza 44:
      But we do want a certain necessary / Woman, to broke between them CUPID said;
    • c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene v]:
      And brokes with all that can in such a suit / Corrupt the tender honour of a maid.

Etymology 4

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Clipping of broke off.

Adjective

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broke (comparative more broke, superlative most broke)

  1. (slang) Broke off, rich, wealthy

Anagrams

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Albanian

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Noun

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broke f

  1. indefinite dative/ablative singular of brokë
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