In this tutorial, we will learn about the break statement with an example.

What is a break statement?

A break statement is a loop control statement that is used to end a loop. When the break statement is encountered within a loop, the loop iterations stop and control returns from the loop to the first statement after the loop.

• The break statement in Java immediately terminates the loop, and control of the program moves to the statement following the loop.
• It is almost always used with decision-making statements (Java if- else Statement).

The break statement in Java has the following syntax:

Syntax:

break;

• Break statements are generally used when we are unsure of the number of iterations for a loop or when we want to terminate the loop based on some condition.

Example: Break Statements

//Java Program to show the use of break statement.

public class Sample {  
public static void main(String[] args) {  
    //using for loop  
    for(int i=1;i<=10;i++){  
        if(i==4){  
            //break statement 
            break;  
        }  
        System.out.println(i);  
    }  
}  
}  

Output:

1 2 3

Example:  Break Statements

class Sample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
      
        int n, sum = 0;

        // Object of Scanner--
        Scanner input = new Scanner(System.in);
      
        while (true) {
            System.out.print("Enter number: ");

            // takes input from user--
            n = input.nextInt();
        
            if (n < 0) {
                break;
            }
         
           sum += n;
        }
        System.out.println("Sum is = " + sum);
    }
}

Output:

Enter a number: 1 Enter a number: 2 Enter a number: 3 Enter a number: 4 Enter a number: -2 Sum = 10

The while loop test expression is always true in the preceding program. Take note of the line here.

if (n < 0) { break; }

This means that the while loop is terminated when the user enters negative numbers.

Example: Break Statementswith Inner Loop

//Java Program to show the use of break statement    
public class Sample {  
public static void main(String[] args) {  
            for(int i=1;i<=3;i++){    
                    //inner loop  
                    for(int j=1;j<=3;j++){    
                        if(i==2&&j==2){    
                            //break statement inside inner loop  
                            break;    
                        }    
                        System.out.println(i+" "+j);    
                    }    
            }    
}  
}  

output:

1 1 1 2 1 3 2 1 3 1 3 2 3 3

Example: Break Statementswith Labeled For Loop

We can use the break Statementswith a label. Since JDK 1.5, the feature has been available. As a result, we can now break any loop in Java, whether it is an outer or inner loop. 

//Java Program to show the use of continue statement.
public class Sample {  
public static void main(String[] args) {  
            x:  
            for(int i=1;i<=3;i++){    
                    y:  
                    for(int j=1;j<=3;j++){    
                        if(i==2&&j==2){    
                            //using break statement with label  
                            break x;    
                        }    
                        System.out.println(i+" "+j);    
                    }    
            }    
}  
}  

Output:

1 1 1 2 1 3 2 1

Example: Break Statements in while loop

//Java Program to show the use of break statement  
public class Sample{  
public static void main(String[] args) {  
    //while loop with break statements
    int i=1;  
    while(i<=10){  
        if(i==6){  
            i++;  
            break;// break the loop  
        }
        System.out.println(i);  
        i++;  
    }  
}  
}  

Output:

1 2 3 4 5

Example: Break Statementsin do-while loop

//Java Program to demonstrate the use of break statement  
//inside the Java do-while loop.  
public class BreakDoWhileExample {  
public static void main(String[] args) {  
    //declaring variable  
    int i=1;  
    //do-while loop  
    do{  
        if(i==5){  
           //using break statement  
           i++;  
           break;//it will break the loop  
        }  
        System.out.println(i);  
        i++;  
    }while(i<=10);  
}  
}  

Output:

1 2 3 4

Example: Break statements in switch case

If you don’t know what is switch case then please refer to Java switch Statement with Example | Java Tutorial

// using the switch...case statement

class Main {
  public static void main(String[] args) {

    int value = 35;
    String size;

    // switch statement to check size
    switch (value) {

      case 5:
        size = "Small";
        break;

      case 15:
        size = "Medium";
        break;

      case 25:
        size = "Large";
        break;

      case 35:
        size = "More than Large";
        break;
      
      default:
        size = "Unknown";
        break;

    }
    System.out.println("Size is: " + size);
  }
}

output:

Size is : More than Large

We hope that this article will assist you in understanding all about Java Break Statement. We have concentrated on making a basic, meaningful, and easy-to-learn guide to the concepts. Still, if you have any problems regarding this, please post them in the comment section, and we will be glad to assist you.