unbreakable

Etymology

It is formed from English un- + break + -able,^[2][3][4] or, in Etymonline's analysis, from un- and breakable.^[5] Merriam-Webster gives the Middle English form unbrekable, from breken (“to break”).^[3][4] The verb goes back to Old English brecan.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Not able to be broken: the OED's first record is in Robert Henryson's Orpheus and Eurydice, from before 1505.^[2] The 1989 edition of the OED dated it to about 1480,^[6] and Etymonline to the late 15th century, noting that the earliest use refers to the law.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The word is recorded earlier than its positive breakable, which dates from 1570 in the OED^[2] and the 1560s in Etymonline.^[5] Etymonline notes that it has been used of things not to be broken in any sense.^[5] The American Heritage Dictionary also records it of a horse that cannot be broken in, and as a noun for an article that does not break easily.^[7]

Timeline

• before 1505 – not able to be broken, in Henryson.^[2] The 1989 edition of the OED dated it to about 1480.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Impossible or very hard to break, or not breakable in ordinary use: an unbreakable plastic cup.^[3][8][7]
2. Able to resist an attempt to break it: an unbreakable record.^[7]
3. Of a horse, unable to be broken in.^[7]

Noun

1. An object that does not break easily.^[7]

Word family

• unbreakableness
• unbreakably

Related words

• unbroken
• break
• breakable

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins