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

So when Alex rejects the author of a romantasy novel entitled The Goblin Seed that turns out to be a bestseller, all hell breaks loose. — Joy Press, Vanity Fair, 24 Aug. 2026

When Mel arrives, all hell breaks loose, but at least the perpetually charming Fisher is up for the task of playing someone who is both completely annoying and totally winning. — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 20 Aug. 2026

Then all hell breaks loose, and Sukowa, eyes blazing, concludes the picture with a seven-minute defense of intellectual freedom assembled from Arendt’s words. — David Denby, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 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

Rhymes for all hell breaks loose

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