Cleopa English - Learning is Fun! Idioms and expressions with “Break” 1. All hell break(s) loose: chaos follows 2. Break bad: defy authority 3. Break bread: to dine together, symbolizing peace and cooperation 4. Break a code: figure out a system for disguising communication 5. Break a law: do something illegal 6. Break a leg: an expression from the performing arts, “Good luck” 7. Break a/the record: exceed the previous best performance 8. Break a habit: stop doing something one does regularly 9. Break a story: be the first journalist to report on an incident or issue 10. Break away: separate from a group 11. Break (one’s) back: expend a great deal of effort for a result 12. Break (one’s) balls: overwhelm or overwork someone 13. Break camp: pack equipment at a campsite in preparation for departure 14. Break down: physically or emotionally collapse, or reduce something to its constituent parts 15. Break even: end up with the same amount of money one had before investing or gambling 16. Break faith: cease to support, or to abide by a promise 17. Break (one’s) fall: prevent a fall of one’s body that might have caused injury 18. Break for: pause for 19. Break formation: cease to operate in an established formation or pattern 20. Break free: release oneself from a literal or figurative restraint 21. Break (one’s) heart: suffer emotional distress 22. Break ground: begin construction 23. Break in (or into): enter by force 24. Break (one) in: introduce someone to something, or initiate someone into something 25. Break it up: an admonition to stop what one is doing, especially arguing or fighting 26. Break loose: separate from 27. Break into a gallop: suddenly increase one’s pace to a gallop while riding a horse 28. Break new ground: begin something new or do something different 29. Break (one) of (something): cause someone to stop doing something habitual 30. Break of dawn: beginning of the day 31. Break off: stop or cease 32. Break open: forcibly open 33. Break out: forcibly remove something from something else, literally or figuratively escape, separate (as into groups), or develop pimples 34. Break out in a cold sweat: become suddenly nervous or frightened so that one literally or figurative perspires 35. Break out in a rash: suddenly develop a skin condition 36. Break out in tears: suddenly begin crying 37. Break ranks: cease to adhere to a certain opinion or cause 38. Break silence: cease to refrain from speaking about something 39. Break (one’s) stride: suddenly stop walking 40. Break the back of: reduce the power or end the domination of 41. Break the bank: use all of one’s funds 42. Break the fourth wall: address an audience directly rather than act as if there is no audience (said of an actor) 43. Break the ice: do something to alleviate awkwardness or nervousness 44. Break the mould: do something differently than it has been done before, or, “They broke the mould when . . . ,” a sentiment that someone has no equal 45. Break the news: share (often unpleasant) information 46. Break the silence: speak up about a topic previously avoided 47. Break the spell: end a period in which one experienced delight 48. Break through: overcome 49. Break (something) to (someone): provide unpleasant news or information 50. Break up: to separate into pieces 51. Break up with: to end a romantic relationship with 52. Break wind: create flatulence 53. Break with: end a relationship with 54. Break with tradition: deviate from custom or standard practice 55. Break (one’s) word: renege on a promise 56. Breaking point: the limit of physical or emotional endurance 57. Broke: out of money 58. Broken arrow: military jargon referring to an accident involving nuclear weaponry or to a request for air support for a threatened position 59. Broken dreams: unfulfilled aspirations 60. (Sound like a) broken record: sound repetitive, like a vinyl record that skips and therefore repeatedly plays a sound 61. Broken reed: unreliable person (like a reed instrument) 62. Even break: even chance 63. (Make a) clean break: escape with complications, or start over again 64. Give me a break: said to express skepticism or exasperation 65. Go for broke: risk everything 66. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it: don’t try to improve something that works well 67. Lucky break: fortunate occurrence 68. Make a break for it: attempt to escape or get away 69. Make or break: said of a critical action that will result in significant success or failure 70. Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me: a child’s response to name-calling expressing that he or she is not injured by the name-calling 71. Take a break: pause while working 72. That’s the breaks/them’s the breaks: an expression of mild sympathy for bad luck 73. The straw that breaks the camel’s back: the final unfortunate or unpleasant incident that results in abandoning or rejecting a situation 74. Tough break: bad luck 75. You cannot make an omelet without breaking eggs: a saying referring to the fact that sacrifices must be made to obtain desirable results How should we learn to use these idioms? Write about a situation, giving information on who, what, when, where, why, how etc . Use one of the idioms by putting it into this context. Try 3 per day. Email them to me to check that you have used them appropriately, like a nature speaker would. IELTS students – to get band 7 or higher you have to use idioms correctly! Enjoy! Cleona
Posted on: Sun, 20 Oct 2013 12:38:22 +0000
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