breaks
PronouncedBRAYKS
nounMore than one moment when something separates into pieces.
nounMore than one short time when someone stops what they are doing to rest.
nounMore than one time when bones crack or fracture in someone's body.
nounMore than one time when waves reach the shore and fall over with white foam.
nounMore than one time when something stops working or functioning.
nounMore than one sudden gap or opening in something.
Syllables
1 syllable
Letters
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: BR Blend
Sound“br”·/br/
B and R blend together — you hear both sounds! Like in 'brown' and 'bring'.
The blend BR combines /b/ and /r/ spoken quickly together.
Examples
Phonics Rule: EA Vowel Team (Long A)
Sound“ay”·/eɪ/
Sometimes EA says the long A sound, like in 'great', 'break', and 'steak'.
In a small set of words, 'ea' makes the long A sound “ay” instead of the usual long E — great, break, steak. These are memorized exceptions.
Tip
Take a great break — EA says A!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Letter K
Sound“k”·/k/
The letter K makes the /k/ sound, like in 'kite', 'kit', and 'king'.
K always makes the /k/ sound. It is used before E, I, and Y where C would make an /s/ sound instead. K is silent before N at the start of a word (knife, know).
Tip
K is for kite — and kite starts with /k/!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Plural -S (/s/ sound)
Sound“s”·/s/
After a quiet sound like p, t, k or f, the plural ending says /s/ — like 'cats' and 'cakes'.
Say 'ssss' and then 'zzzz' with a finger on your throat — only 'zzzz' buzzes. When the word already ends in a quiet (unvoiced) sound like p, t, k or f, the plural ending stays quiet too and says /s/. This happens whether the word is spelled -s (cats) or -es (cakes, notes), because in cakes the e is silent and only the s is sounded.
Examples
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