Dictionary › B › broken

broken

2 syllables

Quick answer

As an adjective, broken means fragmented.

Meanings of broken

29 meanings

Past participle of break

Fragmented; in separate pieces.
of a bonebody partFractured; having the bone in pieces.
“My arm is broken!”
“the ground was littered with broken bones”
of skinSplit or ruptured.
“A dog bit my leg and now the skin is broken.”
of a lineDashed; made up of short lines with small gaps between each one and the next.
of sleepInterrupted; not continuous.
meteorologyof the skyFive-eighths to seven-eighths obscured by clouds; incompletely covered by clouds.
“Tomorrow: broken skies.”
of a melodyHaving periods of silence scattered throughout; not regularly continuous.
of a promiseetcBreached; violated; not kept.
“broken promises of neutrality”
“the broken covenant”
Non-functional; not functioning properly.
“I think my doorbell is broken.”
of an electronic connectionDisconnected, no longer open or carrying traffic.
softwareinformalBadly designed or implemented.
“This is the most broken application I've seen in a long time.”
of languageGrammatically non-standard, especially as a result of being produced by a non-native speaker.
colloquialUSof a situationNot having gone in the way intended; saddening.
“Oh man! That is just broken!”
of a personCompletely defeated and dispirited; shattered; destroyed.
“The bankruptcy and divorce, together with the death of his son, left him completely broken.”