What does windbreak mean?
A windbreak is a barrier or sheltered area that reduces the force of the wind. The word applies to many kinds of obstruction, including walls, fences, hedges, screens, and rows of trees planted for protection. Windbreaks are especially useful around homes, gardens, roads, and exposed rural properties, where they can make outdoor spaces more comfortable and limit wind damage. In British and American English, the word is generally neutral and practical, suggesting protection rather than decoration, although a windbreak may also have a visual or agricultural role. The compound is easy to understand: a windbreak is something that breaks or interrupts the wind. Although a windbreaker is a garment, the two words are not interchangeable. Understanding windbreak in its broader sense is useful when discussing landscaping, construction, transport, agriculture, or any situation in which a barrier protects people or property from strong wind.
nounA barrier, screen, fence, hedge, or other structure intended to reduce the force of the wind and provide shelter. It may also refer more generally to shelter from the wind.
- A barrier, screen, fence, wall, hedge, or planting designed to reduce the force of the wind.
- A place or area that is sheltered from the wind by a barrier or other obstruction.
"The tall hedge serves as an effective windbreak for the garden."
"They planted poplars along the road to form a windbreak."
"The cabin porch offered welcome shelter behind a sturdy windbreak."
The standard plural is formed by adding -s.
"Rows of trees act as windbreaks across the open farmland."
A line of trees can be a wall, a garden feature, and a windbreak all at once.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of windbreak
Windbreak is an English compound formed from the words wind and break, with break meaning to interrupt or check. The word wind descends from Old English wind, while break comes from Old English brecan, meaning to break, shatter, or destroy. Related formations such as windmill and windward preserve the older wind element, while breakwater uses break in the related sense of interrupting or opposing a force.
How windbreak is actually used
The term is neutral and practical, used in both formal and informal contexts. It commonly refers to a physical barrier, but it can also describe the sheltered area provided by one.
Easily confused with windbreak
A windbreak is a barrier or shelter that blocks the wind, whereas a windbreaker is a jacket or other garment designed to keep the wearer warm and protected from wind.