Idiom
Break even
To break even is to earn exactly as much money as you spend, so you make no profit and suffer no loss.
How people use it
Businesses, events and gamblers all talk about breaking even (the bake sale barely broke even after we paid for supplies). It is neutral and common in business, but people also use it loosely for any situation where gains and losses cancel out. The noun and adjective are usually written break-even or breakeven (the break-even point). The verb is two separate words: we broke even.
Also said: broke even, break-even point.
Examples
- The school play broke even, so the drama club can afford another show next year.
- After a slow first year, the bakery finally started to break even.
- Sam sold his old car for almost what he paid, so he basically broke even.
Where it comes from
The phrase is American and dates from the late 1800s or early 1900s. It probably comes from betting and card games, where a player who broke even left the table with the same amount of money he started with. Business writers soon borrowed it, and the break-even point became a standard term in accounting.
Check yourself
1. If a concert broke even, what happened?
Answer: It made no profit and no loss. Break even means income and costs were the same.
2. Which sentence uses the idiom correctly?
Answer: We spent $500 on the fair and took in $500, so we broke even.. Equal costs and income is breaking even. Earning four times your costs is a profit, and the vase sentence is literal.
Similar idioms
Word game fan? See every word hiding in EVEN.