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

But characterization of the bones show that many of them have signs of muscle being cut away and/or having been broken open to extract the marrow. —John Timmer, Ars Technica, 3 July 2024

The mother then used a hammer to break open the back window and attempted to drive to a hospital before stopping and asking a local business for help. —Andrea Vacchiano, Fox News, 1 July 2024

Stallings used a hammer to break open the back window and then attempted to drive to a local hospital before stopping at a business for help, according to the affidavit. —Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 28 June 2024

Opportunities to break open games and go on long offensive rallies are few and far between. —Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 4 July 2024