How to use broken in a sentence. Past participle of break 2 Damaged, no longer able to work A broken set of books. Definition of broken adjective in oxford advanced learner's dictionary Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
[before a noun] (of language) imperfectly spoken Couldn't understand his broken english Spoken in a halting or hesitant manner, as under emotional strain In a broken voice he begged for forgiveness. 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.
You can use broken to describe a marriage that has ended in divorce, or a home in which the parents of the family are divorced, when you think this is a sad or bad thing. The street was covered with broken glass The failure of his business left him a broken man He spoke (in) broken english. Something that's broken is severely damaged — it's either split into pieces or doesn't work anymore Your broken alarm clock is no help at all when you're trying to get to school on time!
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