"To breach the contract" means to fail to fulfill the obligations or terms laid out in a legally binding agreement between two or more parties. Full definition
Another way to think of earnest money is as a «good - faith» deposit that will compensate the seller if the buyer breaches the contract and fails to close. (realtor.com)
What happens if the other party breaches a contract? (bitcoinist.com)
And do you really want to be in a long term contract with someone who breaches contract right from the start based on arbitrary reasons? (law.stackexchange.com)