adj · adv · noun · verb · 13 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/ˈbɹiːt͡ʃ/
[ˈbɹwɪi̯t͡ʃ]
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -iːtʃ
homophone: breach
CMU ARPABET:B R IY1 CH
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Born, or having been born, breech.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
Topics: medicine, obstetrics, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
adv
Meaning 2
With the hips coming out before the head.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
Topics: medicine, obstetrics, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
A garment whose purpose is to cover or clothe the buttocks.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
noun
Meaning 6
The external angle of knee timber, the inside of which is called the throat.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: nautical, transport
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
noun
Meaning 7
A breech birth.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: medicine, obstetrics, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
8
verb
Meaning 8
To dress in breeches. (especially) To dress a boy in breeches or trousers for the first time (the breeching ceremony).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: dated, transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
9
verb
Meaning 9
To beat or spank on the buttocks.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: dated, transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
10
verb
Meaning 10
To fit or furnish with a breech.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Examples
to breech a gun
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
11
verb
Meaning 11
To fasten with breeching.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
12
verb
Meaning 12
To cover as if with breeches.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete, poetic, transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
13
noun
Meaning 13
opening in the rear of the barrel of a gun where bullets can be loaded
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: rear of barrel, rear of tube
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: opening
History
Etymology
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.
Across languages
Translations
23 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Tagalog:
suhi
— Born, or having been born, breech
Czech:
pumpky
— Garment that clothes the buttocks
Czech:
golfky
— Garment that clothes the buttocks
Czech:
tříčtvrteční kalhoty
— Garment that clothes the buttocks
Finnish:
lannevaate
— Garment that clothes the buttocks
French:
culotte
— Garment that clothes the buttocks
German:
Hose
— Garment that clothes the buttocks
German:
Hintern
— buttocks, backside
German:
Hinterteil
— buttocks, backside
Catalan:
culata
— part of a cannon or other firearm
Czech:
závěr
— part of a cannon or other firearm
Finnish:
perä
— part of a cannon or other firearm
French:
culasse
— part of a cannon or other firearm
German:
Schwanzschraube
— part of a cannon or other firearm
Italian:
culatta
— part of a cannon or other firearm
Russian:
казённик
(kazjónnik)
— part of a cannon or other firearm
Russian:
казённая часть
(kazjónnaja častʹ)
— part of a cannon or other firearm
Spanish:
culata
— part of a cannon or other firearm
Swedish:
bakstycke
— part of a cannon or other firearm