burst into

Idioms  

1. Also, . Break out into sudden activity. For example, burst into flames means “break out in a fire,” as in This dry woodpile may well burst into flames . A version of this term, which dates from the 16th century, was used figuratively by John Milton: “Fame is the spur ... But the fair guerdon [reward] when we hope to find, and think to burst out into sudden blaze” ( Lycidas , 1637).

2. Also, burst out . Give sudden utterance to. For example, , etc. mean “begin suddenly to weep, laugh, sing,” and so on, as in When she saw him, she burst into tears , or I burst out laughing when I saw their outfits , or When they brought in the cake, we all burst into song . These terms have been so used since the late 1300s.

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

burst into

The situation has burst into a brawl involving the city’s most powerful.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

As the hulking metal cage, weighing more than a tonne, was lowered from the truck and wheeled into the museum, the gathering burst into applause.

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026

On stage, however, the songs burst into life.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

When he told their seven-year-old son Finn that she had died, he burst into "uncontrollable tears" and that noise would stay with him forever.

From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026

Then Walter Fried, the president of the American Chess Foundation, who’d just burst into the room, noticed that Fischer was in absentia and declared Reshevsky the winner of the series.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady