If you are about to provide some much-needed assistance in a situation do you get ready to step (or leap, or jump) into the breach or the breech? The former. The sense of breach this expression applies to is “a gap (as in a wall) made by battering.” Breech, on the other hand, refers most often to a part of a rifle (near the rear of the barrel), the buttocks, or short pants which cover the hips and thighs (this sense is always found used in the plural, breeches). You may, if you are in a state of undress, step into your breeches before you step into the breach, but you would never step into your breaches before stepping into the breech.
Noun This is clearly a breach of the treaty. Many people consider her decision to be a breach of trust . The judge ruled that the doctor's actions were in breach of her contractual duty. Verb He claims that the city breached an agreement by selling the property. Is he going to breach his contract? The army breached the castle wall. See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
In 2016, a massive cybersecurity breach at Uber saw hackers steal the personal data of 57 million Uber customers and drivers.CBS News, 16 Sep. 2022 Morey was charged with second-degree threatening and second-degree breach of peace, and a referral was made to the Department of Children and Families, according to police. Mike Mavredakis, Hartford Courant, 13 Sep. 2022 An officer at the scene said the man was being arrested with a breach of the peace. Jean-nicholas Fievet, NBC News, 12 Sep. 2022 Former Dawson’s Creek star James Van Der Beek has sued SiriusXM and Stitcher for breach of contract over a podcast agreement allegedly worth at least $700,000. J. Clara Chan, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Aug. 2022 Van Der Beek filed a complaint for breach of contract Friday in Los Angeles, claiming that SiriusXM agreed to a deal worth a minimum of $700,000 for 40 podcast episodes that would have explored his life as an actor and father of six. Jessica Wang, EW.com, 30 Aug. 2022 Deters was sued for breach of contract and fraud by former business partner Kevin Harris in June, who is represented in that lawsuit by Wiest. Joe Sonka, The Courier-Journal, 17 Aug. 2022 State troopers did not identify the man nor provide a motive for the breach Thursday, but he was identified to the Associated Press as Richard W. Shiffer. Quinlan Bentley, USA TODAY, 13 Aug. 2022 Authorities have not released a possible motive for the breach. Scott Wartman, The Enquirer, 12 Aug. 2022
Verb
Oregon unaffiliated candidate for governor Betsy Johnson on Friday rejected the endorsement of former Republican lawmaker Mike Nearman, who helped violent demonstrators breach the state Capitol while lawmakers were in session in December 2020.oregonlive, 19 Aug. 2022 Arredondo, who has been on leave from the district since June 22, has faced blistering criticism since the massacre, most notably for not ordering officers to immediately breach the classroom where an 18-year-old gunman carried out the attack.CBS News, 21 July 2022 Arredondo, who has been on leave from the district since June 22, has faced blistering criticism since the massacre, most notably for not ordering officers to immediately breach the classroom where an 18-year-old gunman carried out the attack. Jake Bleiberg, Anchorage Daily News, 20 July 2022 Arredondo, who has been on leave from the district since June 22, has faced blistering criticism since the massacre, most notably for not ordering officers to immediately breach the classroom where an 18-year-old gunman carried out the attack. Jake Bleiberg, Chicago Tribune, 20 July 2022 Among them: No one assumed command despite scores of officers on the scene, and no officer immediately tried to breach the classroom despite a dispatcher relaying a 911 call that there were victims in the room. Jake Bleiberg And Paul J. Weber, Chron, 19 July 2022 Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw said later that nearly 20 officers waited around 45 minutes to breach the classroom door that was eventually unlocked to confront the shooter.Fox News, 18 July 2022 Steven McGraw previously said our Arredondo made the wrong decision to not order officers to breach the classroom more quickly. Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 10 June 2022 The incident commander’s hesitation to breach the classroom has been widely criticized and goes against many law enforcement protocols. Travis Caldwell, CNN, 8 June 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English breche "act of breaking, opening in a wall, violation," probably in part continuing Old English brǣc "act of breaking" (derivative from base of brecan "to break"), in part borrowed from Anglo-French & continental Old French breche "break, gap," going back to Old Low Franconian *breka, derivative of *brekan "to break," going back to Germanic *brekan- — more at break entry 1