breakout

American  

[breyk-out] / ˈbreɪkˌaʊt /

noun

• breakouts
  plural

1. an escape, often with the use of force, as from a prison or mental institution.

2. an appearance or manifestation, as of a disease, that is sudden and often widespread; outbreak.

3. an itemization; breakdown.

   a hotel bill with a breakout of each service offered.

4. an instance of surpassing any previous achievement.

   a breakout in gold prices.

5. the act or process of removing and disassembling equipment that has been used in drilling a well.

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adjective

1. of or constituting a sudden increase, advance, or unexpected success.

   The director has finally scored with a breakout movie.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• breakouts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of breakout

First recorded in 1810–20; noun use of verb phrase break out

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

breakout breakouts

Her breakout role came in 2006 as Claire Bennet, a high school cheerleader with regenerative powers, on NBC’s “Heroes.”

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026

Each day, it seems that an upside breakout is possible, but it still hasn’t broken out.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

His breakout year came in the 2021-22 season, when he helped City win the Premier League 2 title as an 18-year-old playing alongside the likes of Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Nico O'Reilly.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

Labor costs have been growing slowly relative to productivity, making a broad price breakout less likely.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

After hearing Liam with Zu, I knew that he felt an intense guilt over what had happened the night of their breakout, but it sounded like it might run even deeper than that.

From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken

No one knows, but when technical breakouts align with supportive macro fundamentals and powerful flow dynamics, trends can often extend much further than many expect, he adds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

“We’re seeing breakouts across the global equity-market complex at this point — just another sign of the broad-based participation we are seeing,” said Bill Northey, senior investment director at U.S.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

That’s an encouraging sign, as the strongest breakouts often work immediately.

From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026

The breakouts happen more frequently here, and they become more debilitating.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026

When kids did stage desperate, pathetic breakouts, it had been in small groups of Reds, Oranges, and Yellows.

From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken