Legal Definition and Related Resources of Breaking And Entering

The charge of breaking and entering really constitutes two separate acts, that of breaking, which is opening a door or window , etc., and that of entering the premises . Breaking is forcibly separating, parting, disintegrating or piercing any solid substances. The phrase is also used to describe the common law offense of burglary .

Browse or run a search for Breaking And Entering in the American Encyclopedia of Law, the Asian Encyclopedia of Law, the European Encyclopedia of Law, the UK Encyclopedia of Law or the Latin American and Spanish Encyclopedia of Law.

Breaking And Entering in Historical Law

You might be interested in the historical meaning of this term. Browse or search for Breaking And Entering in Historical Law in the Encyclopedia of Law.

Search for legal acronyms and/or abbreviations containing Breaking And Entering in the Legal Abbreviations and Acronyms Dictionary.

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Mentioned in these terms

Burglary, Housebreaking.

What does Breaking And Entering mean in American Law?

The definition of Breaking And Entering in the law of the United States, as defined by the lexicographer Arthur Leff in his legal dictionary is:

Two elements of the common law felony of burglary, requiring a finding that the defendant has used some physical force in the course of effecting some actual penetration onto the premises of another. How much force and how much penetration has often been litigated (e.g., is lifting a latch “breaking”?; is putting a hand through a broken window “entering”?), with reasonably unpredictable results.

There is a certain irony in these close discussions, inasmuch as “breaking and entering,” as originally formulated, was merely a redundant doublet, in which “breaking” was the Anglo-Saxon term for which “entering” was the latinate equivalent.