broach
To make a hole in, especially a cask of liquor, and put in a tap in order to draw the…To make a hole in, especially a cask of liquor, and put in a tap in order to draw the liquid.
» Tom didn't broach the subject.
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
6 senses(transitive)To make a hole in, especially a cask of liquor, and put in a tap in order to draw the liquid.
anzapfen
(transitive)To open, to make an opening into; to pierce.
French knights at Agincourt were unable to broach the English line.
(figuratively, transitive)To begin discussion about (something).
I broached the subject of contraceptives carefully when the teenager mentioned his promiscuity.
ansprechen, aufbringen
bring up a topic for discussion
(intransitive)To be turned sideways to oncoming waves, especially large or breaking waves.
The small boat broached and nearly sank, because of the large waves.
(transitive)To cause to turn sideways to oncoming waves, especially large or breaking waves (usually followed by to; also figurative).
18th C, Thomas Dibdin, Tom Bowling Here a sheer hulk lies poor Tom Bowling ... for death hath broached him to.
Each time we came around into the wind, the sea broached our bow.
(ambitransitive)To break the surface of the water.
Diving officer, broach the ship!
Examples
16 sentencesTom didn't broach the subject.
Tom tried to broach the subject.
Tom did not broach the subject.
We deliberately didn't broach that topic.
deWir haben das Thema absichtlich nicht angeschnitten. — raggione
Please don't broach this subject again.
Translations
4 languagesBy meaning 2
Origin
From Middle English broche, from Old French broche, from Vulgar Latin *brocca, originallyFrom Middle English broche, from Old French broche, from Vulgar Latin *brocca, originally a feminine form of Latin broccus, perhaps ultimately of Gaulish origin (see Scottish Gaelic bròg). Doublet of brochure.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
broaches, broaching, broached, broachedSynonyms
2 synonymsWord family
5 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.