break loose

Idioms

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]

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.

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

As spring approaches, the sun warms the slopes and large ice blocks -- sometimes a meter long -- break loose.

From Science Daily • Oct. 16, 2025

Even if no avalanches break loose, skiers can be swallowed by “tree wells” — deep pockets of loose snow surrounding evergreens — and die from suffocation.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 28, 2023

If that happened, everybody agreed that all hell would break loose.

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger

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

break loose

Example Sentences

Related Words