break one's fast

English

Verb

break one's fast (third-person singular simple present breaks one's fast, present participle breaking one's fast, simple past broke one's fast, past participle broken one's fast)

1. (dated) To eat breakfast; to eat the first meal of the day after a night of not eating or to conclude any period of fasting by consuming food.
   • 1816, Sir Walter Scott, chapter 15, in The Antiquary—Volume II:

     His servant placed before him a slice of toasted bread, with a glass of fair water, being the fare on which he usually broke his fast.

   • 1905, George Bernard Shaw, chapter 3, in The Irrational Knot:

     Thinking that it might be Lord Carbury, and that, if so, he would probably not wait until half past nine to break his fast, she ran gaily off.

2. To conclude any period of intentional fasting (usually for religious or medical reasons) by consuming food.

Translations

archaic: to eat breakfast

• Armenian: նախաճաշել (hy) (naxačašel)
• Bengali: নাস্তা করা (nasta kora)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 吃早餐 (chī zǎocān)

• Czech: Snídat
• Dutch: ontbijten (nl)
• Esperanto: matenmanĝi
• Finnish: einehtiä (fi)
• French: prendre le petit déjeuner, déjeuner (fr)
• German: frühstücken (de)
• Hindi: please add this translation if you can
• Italian: fare colazione
• Japanese: 朝食を取る (ちょうしょくをとる, chōshoku o toru), 朝食を食べる (ちょうしょくを たべる, chōshoku o taberu)
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Polish: jeść śniadanie (pl)
• Portuguese: desjejuar (pt)
• Russian: за́втракать (ru) impf (závtrakatʹ), поза́втракать (ru) pf (pozávtrakatʹ)
• Slovene: zajtrkovati (sl)
• Spanish: desayunar (es)
• Turkish: kahvaltı etmek (tr)
• Vietnamese: ăn sáng

to conclude any period of fasting by consuming food

• Arabic: أَفْطَرَ (ar) (ʔafṭara)
• Bengali: উপোস ভাঙা (upōs bhaṅa), ইফতার করা (iphtar kora) (Islam), ইফতার সারা (iphtar śara) (Islam)
• Esperanto: malfasti
• French: rompre le jeûne
• Greek: καταλύω (el) (katalýo)
• Italian: rompere il digiuno
• Ngazidja Comorian: ufungua
• Russian: разговля́ться (ru) impf (razgovljátʹsja), разгове́ться (ru) pf (razgovétʹsja)
• Swahili: kufungua kinywa
• Turkish: oruç açmak (tr), oruç bozmak (tr)
• Urdu: روزَہ کھولْنا (roza kholnā)

References

• Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989. See entry for "break."