---
title: Break Control Statement
---
# Break Control Statement
Terminates the loop and starts the execution of the code that immediately follows the loop. If you have nested loops, the `break` statement will only end the loop in which it is placed.
```java
// Loop 1
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
{
// Loop 2
for (int j = 0; j < 10; j++)
{
if (i == 5 && j == 5)
{
break; // Will terminate Loop 2, but Loop 1 will keep going
}
}
}
```
But if you do want to break out of the outer loop too, you can use a label to exit:
```java
loop1: // This is a label
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
{
// Loop 2
for (int j = 0; j < 10; j++)
{
if (i == 5 && j == 5)
{
break loop1; // Will break out of Loop 1, instead of Loop 2
}
}
}
```
 Run Code
`break` statements can be particulary useful while searching for an element in an array. Using `break` in the following code improves efficiency as the loop stops as soon as the element we are looking for (`searchFor`) is found, instead of going on till the end of `arrayInts` is reached.
```java
int j = 0;
int[] arrayOfInts = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9};
int searchFor = 5;
for (int i : arrayOfInts)
{
if (arrayOfInts[j] == searchFor)
{
break;
}
j++;
}
System.out.println("j = " + j);
```
Break statement can also be used under while statement.
```java
int i = 0;
int[] arrayOfInts = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9};
int searchFor = 5;
while(i < 10){
System.out.println("i = " + j);
if(arrayOfInts[i] > 7){
break;
}
}
```
 Run Code