break loose

Idioms  

1. 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]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

break loose

But all hell did break loose in other ways.

From Salon ● Jun. 14, 2026

Andreas Skov Olsen floated in a cross and all hell was about to break loose.

From BBC ● Mar. 1, 2026

Blood clots form in the veins and can break loose and travel with the circulation to the lungs, leading to pulmonary embolism.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 27, 2024

Ol’ heads were chattin’ that if Nick Saban didn’t get it together soon, Prime would roll into Tuscaloosa next and, then naturally, all hell would break loose.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2023

Gears were starting to shift into place inside Thomas’s head as well, almost as if a prior memory was beginning to break loose.

From "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner

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Related Words

• casual
• impromptu
• instinctive
• offhand
• simple
• unplanned
• voluntary

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