break a leg

Idioms

Fracture one or more leg bones, as in She fell down the stairs and broke her leg in two places . [c. a.d. 1000]
Good luck! as in Play well, Rob—break a leg! The origin of this imperative to a performer about to go onstage is unclear; it may have been a translation of the German Hals und Beinbruch (“Break your neck and leg”), also of unknown origin. Equally mysterious is the Italian equivalent, In bocca di lupe , “Into the mouth of the wolf.” [c. 1900]

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.

"Chookas is the Australian way of saying good luck or break a leg and apparently it's slang for chicken," she explained.

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2024

"I think I took it a little too literally when they said, 'Go to Milwaukee and break a leg.'"

From Reuters • Aug. 24, 2023

So whose bright idea was it to tell Braves pitcher Charlie Morton to break a leg before Game 1?

From Seattle Times • Oct. 29, 2021

“I just felt like nobody understood what I was going through. It’s not like you break a leg and people understand that you can’t walk,” Castro-Salzman said.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 4, 2021

“What? You only say that in the theater...before a show...not before a run. If you say break a leg before a run, then someone could actually...oh hi,” I say, looking up toward James.

From "Watch Us Rise" by Renée Watson and Ellen Hagan

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