You’re watching Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for January 17.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Today’s word is break, spelled b-r-e-a-k.

break /breɪk/ verb

break the bank idiom

to be very expensive or too expensive : to cost a lot of money —usually used in negative statements

Buy a car that's dependable but won't break the bank.

It only costs $2. That's not going to break the bank.

break even idiom

to earn enough money to pay for expenses, without any profit

We’d have to sell 2000 copies of the book to break even.

break-even point noun

the point at which what one earns matches what one spends

After years of losing money the company has finally reached the break-even point and we hope to make a profit soon.

break the news idiom

to tell (someone) bad news

We tried to break the news to her gently.

The doctor broke the news to the family that my grandmother had cancer.