breach of the peace en · NOUN
Meanings
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The legal offense of engaging in public behavior which is violent, rowdy, or disruptive.
Short of high treason, the gravest form of breach of the peace known to British law is riot.
1938 May 16, “Jamaica: Riot Act”, in Time:Four men and a woman were arrested and charged with breaches of the peace after a series of scuffles in which protesters and police received minor injuries.
2003 October 24, Aban Contractor et al., “Why a world leader used the servants' entrance”, in Sydney Morning Herald, retrieved 06 Oct 2012:[T]he sheriff turned his eyes again. . . . "What have we here?" he cried; "two men boxing! Has there been a breach of the peace?"
1823, James Fenimore Cooper, chapter 32, in The Pioneers:
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(broadly) Any public disturbance or disorderly behavior.
Polly's suspicions were louder, her temper became uncertain; once or twice she forgot herself and used language calculated to cause a breach of the peace.
1898, George Gissing, chapter 20, in The Town Traveller:Then, suddenly, the singing fell upon us and broke the silence into ruins. It was in the nature of a breach of the peace.
1912, Irving Bacheller, chapter 14, in ‘Charge It’:My rural ride continues, and on a gloriously balmy day in Worth Matravers the only obvious sign of a breach of the peace is a flock of geese lolloping out of the pond, on to the lane.
2009 April 2, Jasper Gerard, “Bucolic Britain is stirring”, in The Telegraph, UK, retrieved 06 Oct 2012:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| breaches of the peace | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Relateds
Translations (16)
cmn 破壞治安罪 /破坏治安罪 (legal offense) · hu garázdaság (any public disturbance or disorderly behavior) · fi häiritsevä käytös (any public disturbance or disorderly behavior) · ga briseadh síochána (legal offense) · fi yleisen rauhan häiritseminen (legal offense) · de Landfriedensbruch (any public disturbance or disorderly behavior) · hu rendzavarás (any public disturbance or disorderly behavior) · hu rendbontás (any public disturbance or disorderly behavior) · fr trouble à l’ordre public (any public disturbance or disorderly behavior) · cmn 破壞治安 /破坏治安 (any public disturbance or disorderly behavior) · hu garázdaság (legal offense) · yue 破壞社會安寧 /破坏社会安宁 (any public disturbance or disorderly behavior) · cy tor heddwch (legal offense) · fr trouble à l’ordre public (legal offense) · de Landfriedensbruch (legal offense) · tl panggugulo (any public disturbance or disorderly behavior)