break open

phrasal verb

broke open; broken open; breaking open; breaks open
: to open or to cause (something) to open suddenly
The pods broke open and the seeds scattered on the wind.
The police broke open the door.
The burglars broke the locked safe open.

Examples of break open in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
However, when Astrid breaks open a portal to the afterlife, Lydia is forced to summon the pinstriped menace who's never really left her mind to try and save her family. James Mercadante, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2025 Twist off is harder to do one-handed but is less likely to break open in a diaper bag. Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2025 Bishop’s broke open a scoreless tie by scoring two touchdowns in the third quarter on short runs by Josiayah Bryant and Isaiah Garcia. La Jolla Light, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Aug. 2025 Only slowly this shell broke open, with fragments sinking downward into the Earth’s interior, a process called subduction and today a driving mechanism behind plate tectonics. David Bressan, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for break open

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Cite this Entry

“Break open.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/break%20open. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

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