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.

He moved up into motor racing in 1974, first into Formula Ford and then Formula 3, only to suffer a nasty accident at Mallory Park in 1976 and badly break a leg.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2025

"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

If Lauren Ambrose has the goods, then all I can say is break a leg!

From New York Times • Feb. 27, 2018

The fool was so excited, I thought he was going to mess around and break a leg before we even got to the party.

From "When I Was the Greatest" by Jason Reynolds

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