Break even

[Ju]

I would like to learn the usages of "break even.

Paul owed me $1000 last month. I owe him $1000 this month. Can I say:
"We don't owe any between us. We break it even."

Thanks.

 

[bhaisahab]

No. You can say, 'We are not in each other's debt. We are even.'

 

[Ju]

Then, under what situation I can use "break even"?
May I have some examples, please"

Thanks.

 

[jutfrank]

break even is when you don't make a profit or a loss. That is, when your revenue and expenses are equal.

 

[Tarheel]

I won $10 and I lost $10. I broke even.

I bet $10 on the first race and won $20. I bet $10 on the second race and lost $10. I broke even.

[Cross-posted with Jutfrank.]

 

[Ju]

It applies to sports games as well, am I right?

E.g.
Tim won the game on the first round and lost on the second round. He broke even.

Is the above sentence correct?

Thanks.

 

[Roman55]

I won $10 and I lost $10. I broke even.

I bet $10 on the first race and won $20. I bet $10 on the second race and lost $10. I broke even.

[Cross-posted with Jutfrank.]

It sounds to me like you won $10.

 

[Tarheel]

In the first instance I bet $10 and won $20. That was $10 net gain. In the second instance I bet $10 and lost it. I broke even. (I didn't win anything, and I didn't lose anything.)

 

[Tarheel]

It applies to sports games as well, am I right?

E.g.
Tim won the game on the first round and lost on the second round. He broke even.

Is the above sentence correct?

.

I am not familiar with that usage.

 

[GoesStation]

It applies to sports games as well, am I right?

No. It's only used about financial exchanges.

 

[Rover_KE]

Then, under what situation I can use "break even"?
May I have some examples, please"

Click here and bookmark the site for future reference.

 

[Roman55]

In the first instance I bet $10 and won $20. That was $10 net gain. In the second instance I bet $10 and lost it. I broke even. (I didn't win anything, and I didn't lose anything.)

I understand what you mean but you aren't expressing it clearly. Even in your explanation you are still saying you won $20 and lost $10. The net gain is the amount you win. Your original stake isn't part of the winnings.

 

[Tarheel]

In the first instance I won $10. In the second instance I lost $10. i broke even.

(You've never been to the track, have you?)

 

[Tarheel]

Do you understand what $10 net gain is?
:roll:

 

[emsr2d2]

Do you understand what $10 net gain is?
:roll:

To be fair, I don't understand what it is either. However, I do know that if I were go to a racetrack (never have, never will) and place some bets, if I go home with exactly the same amount of money I came with, I broke even.

 

[Roman55]

Do you understand what $10 net gain is?
:roll:

I do understand what it is. I spent over 25 years in the gaming industry and I can assure you that I have no difficulty with calculating winnings. My original comment in post #7 was intended to be humorous, and I naively thought that it would be immediately understood as such. It was made because you said that you won $20. Now you're saying that you won $10, so even you can see that there is a difference.

 

[Tarheel]

My apologies! I missed something that should have been obvious. When you win a bet you do of course get your money back plus whatever you won.

A better example would be a person placed two bets. One time he won $10. The other time he lost $10. He broke even.