not to do what one said one would do; not to keep one's promise. (Compare this with keep one's word.) Don't say you'll visit your grandmother if you can't go. She hates people to break their word. If you break your word, she won't trust you again.
to fail to keep a promise He has broken his word so many times that no one can believe him any more. Opposite of: keep your word Related vocabulary: go back on something