give me a break
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Stop bothering or annoying me
Literally: provide a pause or rest
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
Give me a break, I'm tired of your jokes
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Equivalents & related
Common questions
What does “give me a break” mean?
Stop bothering or annoying me Literally: provide a pause or rest
Is “give me a break” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.
What is the closest equivalent?
“cho ... xin hai chữ "bình yên"” (Tiếng Việt) — near equivalent.