break ranks

phrase

variants or less commonly break rank

: to differ in opinion or action from one's peers

—often used with with

broke ranks with the party's leadership

Examples of break ranks in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Signatories included 213 Democrats and five Republicans who broke ranks to support the bill. — Mark Hooson, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2026

Some Republicans had already broken ranks in the months before Election Day to call for an end to the war. — Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 5 Nov. 2026

Leading up to the election, many traditional conservatives broke ranks and declared support for Hinojosa. — Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Nov. 2026

Continue reading … CLEAR CONTRAST — Vance calls El-Sayed a 'crazy person' as Dem breaks ranks for GOP rival. — FOXNews.com, 3 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1854, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for break ranks

• sandbanks
• blanks
• cranks
• flanks
• francs
• franks
• hanks
• manx
• planks
• pranks
• shanks
• tanks