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]
QUIZZES
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Question 1 of 9
You may have read the word "simmer" in a recipe or two, but what does it really mean?
Words nearby break loose
breaking ball, breaking point, break-in period, break into, break it up, break loose, breakneck, break of day, breakoff, break one, break one's ass
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.