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Synonyms

break loose

Idioms  

  1. Escape from restraint, as in The boat broke loose from its moorings, or He finally broke loose from the school of abstract expressionism. This expression also appears in all hell breaks loose, which indicates a state of fury or chaos, as in When Dad finds out you broke his watch, all hell will break loose, or When the children saw the dead pigeon in the hall, all hell broke loose. [Early 1400s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Andreas Skov Olsen floated in a cross and all hell was about to break loose.

From BBC • Mar. 1, 2026

As spring approaches, the sun warms the slopes and large ice blocks -- sometimes a meter long -- break loose.

From Science Daily • Oct. 16, 2025

Ol’ heads were chattin’ that if Nick Saban didn’t get it together soon, Prime would roll into Tuscaloosa next and, then naturally, all hell would break loose.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 28, 2023

Brienz was evacuated on May 12 after geologists warned that the Alpine rock looming over the village could break loose.

From Washington Times • Jun. 16, 2023

All hell would break loose and then no more worrying and fretting and fuming; he’d hit straight up that road with everything he had.

From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.