broken

bro|ken1 [ `broukən ] adjective **

▸ 1 damaged physically

▸ 2 not working

▸ 3 extremely sad

▸ 4 not as promised/hoped

▸ 5 not continuous

▸ 6 without hope

▸ + PHRASES

1. ) a broken object has been damaged and is in two or more pieces:

Be careful not to step on the broken glass.

Nearly all the houses had broken windows.

a broken fingernail

Fill the bottom of the dish with broken crackers.

a ) a broken bone has a crack in it:

He had several broken ribs and a suspected broken leg.

2. ) if a machine is broken, it is not working correctly:

You can't watch the television it's broken.

He's repaired that broken clock.

3. ) LITERARY if your heart is broken, you feel extremely sad because a relationship with someone you love has ended or because someone has died:

Her husband died, and she died soon afterward of a broken heart.

4. ) used for describing a situation in which you do not do what you promised, agreed, or hoped:

He referred to his country as the land of broken dreams.

a string of broken promises

a ) a broken relationship has failed:

broken marriages: I'd had two broken marriages by the time I was 30.

a broken engagement

b ) a broken home a family where the parents are divorced or do not live together, and the children suffer as a result:

She works with children who come from broken homes.

5. ) a broken pattern or sound has spaces in it:

a broken line

a ) if you have broken sleep or a broken night, you sleep badly, waking up often

6. ) LITERARY very badly damaged physically

a ) having lost all hope and enthusiasm, because of bad experiences

broken English/French/German etc.

if someone speaks in broken English, etc., they speak slowly and make a lot of mistakes because they do not know the language very well

broken

bro|ken 2

the past participle of break1