Today I got my big break, which means my big opportunity. And, of course, the word break simply means to destroy something. But we can use just the word break in slang. Break is a really wonderful word because you can use it in so many ways, not just as slang but to attach it to other prepositions, like a breakthrough. Which is why we're breaking this down right now. So we're breaking it down, this one is a little confusing. To break it down means to dissect it so we can really examine it. But you can also say to break down. To break down means to no longer function. For example, if you're driving to work and your car goes ksss-ksss-ksss-kshhhhh, you're car broke down. But a person can have a breakdown. That means your emotions are just so strong, you're so upset, you start crying, you're having a breakdown. So today I finally broke up with my boyfriend. Well, when you're in a relationship, you can either break up with a person or you can break it off. Both mean to end a relationship. Now, when you say that somebody is broke, here we go again with the word break as slang. To be broke means to have no money. My boyfriend is always broke, and he always breaks our dates. To break a date means to call somebody at the last second and say 'You know what? We have to cancel the date.’ And my boyfriend always breaks into conversation. When you break into a conversation, it means you interrupt. To break into a conversation. So basically you're breaking the other person's conversation.