break the news

Idioms  

1. Make something known, as in We suspected that she was pregnant but waited for her to break the news to her in-laws. This term, in slightly different form (break a matter or break a business), dates from the early 1500s. Another variant is the 20th-century journalistic phrase, break a story, meaning “to reveal a news item or make it available for publication.”

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Example Sentences

Humphrys told The Times he "staggered" back to the office after a "lavish" lunch in August 1974 - and then told to break the news that US president Richard Nixon was resigning.

From BBC • Jun. 2, 2026

So when I called him to break the news, he started crying.

From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026

When Neil died in 1965, it fell to Kai to phone their parents, who were in Italy, and break the news.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025

Balde said he was "devastated" and had to break the news to his wife.

From Barron's • Dec. 17, 2025

I break the news to her in an email, and an hour later she says that it was going to be hard to meet up today, anyway.

From "Every Day" by David Levithan

Related Words

• advise
• announce
• confess
• declare
• disclose
• explain
• express
• inform
• instruct
• mention
• notify
• order
• report
• reveal
• say
• speak
• state
• summon