all hell breaks loose
idiom
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
When Superman is grown up, suddenly there’s a mass exodus and all hell breaks loose.
—
Zack Sharf, Variety, 19 Oct. 2023
Meanwhile, a group of teens are taking a weekend trip to a cabin on Crystal Lake, and all hell breaks loose when Jason arrives.
—Keith Langston, Peoplemag, 13 Oct. 2023
Of course, somebody violates the time constraint and all hell breaks loose.
—Odie Henderson, BostonGlobe.com, 31 Aug. 2023
The scene starts out calm, but when a racoon brushes up against the buck’s front leg, all hell breaks loose.
—Travis Hall, Field & Stream, 23 Aug. 2023
Before all hell breaks loose outside, all hell breaks loose inside.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2023
When the whole show changes in episode three and people start stealing stuff and all hell breaks loose, myself and 70 percent of the crew were actually away preparing for an upcoming episode.
—Fred Dreier, Outside Online, 9 Mar. 2023
See More
Zack Sharf, Variety, 19 Oct. 2023
Meanwhile, a group of teens are taking a weekend trip to a cabin on Crystal Lake, and all hell breaks loose when Jason arrives.
—Keith Langston, Peoplemag, 13 Oct. 2023
Of course, somebody violates the time constraint and all hell breaks loose.
—Odie Henderson, BostonGlobe.com, 31 Aug. 2023
The scene starts out calm, but when a racoon brushes up against the buck’s front leg, all hell breaks loose.
—Travis Hall, Field & Stream, 23 Aug. 2023
Before all hell breaks loose outside, all hell breaks loose inside.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2023
When the whole show changes in episode three and people start stealing stuff and all hell breaks loose, myself and 70 percent of the crew were actually away preparing for an upcoming episode.
—Fred Dreier, Outside Online, 9 Mar. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'all hell breaks loose.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“All hell breaks loose.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/all%20hell%20breaks%20loose. Accessed 8 Dec. 2023.
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