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Synonyms

break the news

Idioms  

  1. Make something known, as in We suspected that she was pregnant but waited for her to break the news to her in-laws. This term, in slightly different form (break a matter or break a business), dates from the early 1500s. Another variant is the 20th-century journalistic phrase, break a story, meaning “to reveal a news item or make it available for publication.”

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.

See Examples For:

So when I called him to break the news, he started crying.

From Salon ● Mar. 24, 2026

It wasn’t easy to go into Lazarus’ office to break the news about her condition after just six months on the job and a massive task ahead.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2026

However, the scientific paper detailing the discovery was published sooner than expected, meaning he had to break the news to him during a video call instead.

From BBC ● Feb. 17, 2026

When Neil died in 1965, it fell to Kai to phone their parents, who were in Italy, and break the news.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025

“Well, then! Let’s break the news to Lanning, Mike.”

From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov

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.

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