Breech Meaning
/ˈbɹiːt͡ʃ/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA garment whose purpose is to cover or clothe the buttocks.
nounThe buttocks or backside.
Sentence Examples
Last time I had a breech delivery.
A breech birth means that the baby is born buttocks or feet first.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ultrasound confirmed that the baby was in a ____ position, requiring a C-section.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He broke the old lock with a simple ____ of the wooden door tonight.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English breche, from Old English brēċ, from Proto-Germanic *brōkiz pl, from Proto-Germanic *brōks (“clothing for loins and thighs”). Cognate with Dutch broek, Alemannic German Bruech, Swedish brok. Doublet of vraka.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"'Lat be,' quod he, ‘it shal nat be, so theech!
Thou woldest make me kisse thyn old breech,
And swere it were a relik of a seint,"
— late 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Pardoner's Tale, The Canterbury Tales
"The stallion lipped Alanna’s breech pockets. “He’s spoiled rotten.” Fishing a lump of sugar out, she fed it to him."
— 1992, Tamora Pierce, Wild Magic, New York, N.Y.: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, →ISBN, page 57:
"The typical American combat soldier in World War I wore an olive-drab tunic, stiff at the neck, breech-style trousers, and combat shoes with canvas leggings or, preferably, wrappings."
— 2009, John C[oyne] McManus, American Courage, American Carnage: 7th Infantry Chronicles: The 7th Infantry Regiment’s Combat Experience, 1812 Through World War II, New York, N.Y.: Forge, →ISBN, pages 244–245:
"He reached into his breech pockets. They were huge, but well-tailored and disguised properly within the folds of the pants."
— 2015, David Nabhan, The Pilots of Borealis, London: Gollancz, published 2020, →ISBN:
"And he made a woman for playing the whore, sit upon a great stone, on her bare breech twenty-foure houres, onely with corne and water, every three dayes, till nine dayes were past […]"
— 1624, John Smith, Generall Historie, Kupperman, published 1988, page 157:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ultrasound confirmed that the baby was in a ____ position, requiring a C-section.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He broke the old lock with a simple ____ of the wooden door tonight.