all hell breaks loose

phrase

informal

—used to describe what happens when violent, destructive, and confused activity suddenly begins

I heard people shouting at each other, and suddenly all hell broke loose.

Examples of all hell breaks loose in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Ashtray makes the rash decision to stick a knife in Custer's neck — and all hell breaks loose. — Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 31 Mar. 2026

When the property’s bartender, Fiona (Florence Ordesh), disappears after telling him the honeymoon suite is haunted, all hell breaks loose. — David Faris, TheWeek, 25 Mar. 2026

Those plans become reality when the volcano erupts, and all hell breaks loose. — Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 9 Mar. 2026

Then your coworker arrives, the stereo turns from ambient techno to Electric Wizard, the customers slowly trickle in, and all hell breaks loose. — Pete Cottell, Wired News, 9 Mar. 2026

Rhymes for all hell breaks loose

• reintroduce
• abstruse
• abuse
• adduce
• atreus
• caboose
• cayuse
• conduce
• deduce
• diffuse
• disuse
• excuse