"Every Breaking Wave" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the second track from their thirteenth studio album, Songs of Innocence, and was released as its second single. It was produced by Danger Mouse and Ryan Tedder, with additional production from Declan Gaffney.

"Every Breaking Wave" was originally intended to be included on U2's 2009 studio album No Line on the Horizon. In an article previewing the album several weeks before release, Rolling Stone called the song a "swelling soul-pop song, with bright synth sounds influenced by OMD". However, the track was ultimately left off the album, much to the chagrin of some in the U2 camp; speaking of material the band were working on, lead singer Bono said the song was producer Jimmy Iovine's favorite. Bono mentioned tentative plans for the group to release a follow-up record, Songs of Ascent, comprising songs from No Line's recording sessions, and said that the first single was intended to be "Every Breaking Wave". However, the project was continually delayed, as U2 struggled to complete an album to their satisfaction and were limited by other commitments.

When the group resumed their U2 360° Tour in August 2010, they debuted "Every Breaking Wave" with a live performance, making it one of several unreleased tracks to be debuted. As the band continued recording for their next studio album, the song was altered; after Ryan Tedder was brought on as a co-producer in 2013, the song was one of the tracks that he changed most, as he introduced a new chorus melody and moved the old one to the song's bridge.

Bono described the song as being about the difficulty of "giv[ing] yourself completely to another person", with lyrical characters who are "addicted to sort of failure and rebirth". He referred to the chorus lines "Every dog on the street / Knows we're in love with defeat / Are we ready to be swept off our feet / And stop chasing every breaking wave" as a chance for the characters of two lovers to "make a break for it". A previous version of the song included "After every peak, the trough / I can feel the energy drop / Will we ever know when to stop / With this chasing every breaking wave", which he said "has a certain despair that's powerful."

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