Java Break Statement

Java has no goto operator, but it does have three jump statements: break, continue, and return. They transfer control to another part of the program. This lesson covers the break statement in Java in detail.

The Java break statement can be used in the following cases:

• To terminate a statement sequence in a switch block, as discussed in the Switch Statement lesson.
• To exit a loop early.
• As a "civilized" form of the goto statement (break with a label).

Using break to exit a loop

Let's look at an example of using the Java break statement to exit a while loop. The loop is set to run 100 times, but in case of an unexpected condition, we want to exit early using break.

public class BreakLoopExample1 {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int i = 0, n = 100;

        while (i < n) {
            if (i == 10) {
                break;
            }
            System.out.println("i: " + i++);
        }
        System.out.println("Loop finished.");
    }
}

The break statement in Java should not be used as the regular way to leave a loop — that's the job of the loop condition. Reserve it for special cases. Also note that an unlabeled break is only legal inside a loop or a switch statement — anywhere else the compiler reports the error break outside switch or loop.

Break inside nested loops

When multiple loops are nested, the break statement exits only the innermost loop. For example:

public class BreakLoopExample2 {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
            System.out.print("Pass " + i + " : ");
            for (int j = 0; j < 100; j++) {
                if (j == 10) {
                    break;
                }
                System.out.print(j + " ");
            }
            System.out.println();
        }
        System.out.println("Loops finished");
    }
}

Output of the program:

Pass 0 : 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Pass 1 : 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Pass 2 : 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Loops finished

You can use more than one break statement in a Java loop, but it hurts readability — better to avoid it.

Java break statement with a label

Let's explore the labeled break in Java. It is often seen as a structured substitute for the goto statement, which Java does not support, unlike some other programming languages.

Syntax of a labeled break:

break label;

Here, the label is an identifier marking a block of code — either a standalone code block or the target block of another statement, such as a loop. To label a block, place the label name followed by a colon at the beginning of the block.

A label is any valid Java identifier followed by a colon.

Labeled break to exit nested loops

The following code uses three labeled blocks: first, second, and third. When break second; is reached, execution leaves the second block.

public class BreakLoopExample3 {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        boolean t = true;
        first:
        {
            second:
            {
                third:
                {
                    System.out.println("Before break.");
                    if (t) {
                        break second;
                    }
                    System.out.println("This line won't execute.");
                }
                System.out.println("This line won't execute.");
            }
            System.out.println("After second block.");
        }
    }
}

Program output:

Before break.
After second block.

Most often, a labeled break is used to exit several nested loops at once — to break out of the outer loop directly from the inner one:

public class BreakLoopExample4 {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        outer:
        for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
            System.out.print("Pass " + i + " : ");
            for (int j = 0; j < 100; j++) {
                if (j == 10) {
                    break outer; // exits both loops
                }
                System.out.print(j + " ");
            }
            System.out.println("This line won't be printed.");
        }
    }
}

One important restriction: the label must be placed directly before the block or loop being exited. A labeled break cannot "jump" to an arbitrary place in the program the way a real goto does.

Break vs continue vs return

Break is not the only jump statement in Java. Let's compare it with continue and return:

Presentation with video on Patreon →