We discuss gauge symmetry breaking with Wilson loops in 5 dimensions. We present a simple example with the fifth dimension compactified on an S¹/Z₂ orbifold. The Wilson loop in this SO(3) example replaces the adjoint Higgs scalar (needed to break SO(3) to U(1)) in the well-known Georgi--Glashow model. We then show that gauge symmetry breaking with a Wilson loop on this S¹/Z₂ orbifold is gauge equivalent to gauge symmetry breaking on a particular S¹/(Z₂ \times Z₂^') orbifold. The latter orbifold has been used in many recent constructions with gauge symmetry breaking in five dimensional supersymmetric and non-supersymmetric models. Finally we explicitly construct a magnetic monopole string solution; the analog of the 't Hooft--Polyakov monopole. The monopole string has finite energy, and length equal to the size of the extra dimension.

PACS numbers: 04.50.+h, 11.25.Mj, 11.15.Ex