break loose


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]

Words Nearby break loose

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

How to use break loose in a sentence

  • Im going to break loose—stop this eternal, maddening fighting to hold myself in—give way!

    The Woman Gives | Owen Johnson
  • The border excitement was about to break loose in deadly earnest, but that was more than any of them knew at that time.

  • He ought to break loose from her and run wild for a while—ought to rough it out West on fat sow bosom and heifer's delight.