Breaches

How to spell breaches

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce breaches

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does breaches mean?

1. nounActs of breaking a law, rule, or agreement, or physical gaps broken in a barrier.
2. verbBreaks through a barrier or violates a rule or agreement (third person singular).

Breaches in a sentence

• noun

  The company reported two data breaches to the regulator last quarter.

• verb

  Whenever the river breaches its banks, the low fields flood within hours.

• noun

  Repeated breaches of the contract led the client to cancel the deal.

• verb

  Any employee who breaches the confidentiality policy faces dismissal.

Where does breaches come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word descends from the Old English bryce, meaning 'a breaking' or 'a fracture', which came from the same Germanic root that gives us the everyday verb 'break'. In early use it described a literal physical break, such as a gap smashed in a wall or a fortification, and that military sense of storming through a 'breach' in the defences stayed strong for centuries. Over time the meaning broadened from breaking objects to breaking agreements, rules, and trust, giving us the modern idea of a breach of contract or a data breach. The spelling was reinforced by the Old French word breche, which shared the same Germanic ancestry, and that is why we keep the -ea- and the soft -ch. It is worth noting that 'breech' (as in breeches or the breech of a gun) is a separate word with its own history, so the -ea- spelling of breach is the one tied to breaking and violating.

How the word is built

• breach (a break or gap, from Germanic root for breaking)
• -es (plural noun / third-person verb suffix)