as in erupting
to develop suddenly and violently
in the wake of news reports of deaths from the flu, panic broke out, and there was a mad rush for flu shots
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Recent Examples of breaking out
The new trailer offers glimpses of Candy’s upbringing in Toronto, as well as his earliest screen roles before breaking out in 1980s hits Stripes, National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), Spaceballs (1987) and more — including 1987's Planes, Trains and Automobiles, which inspired the documentary's title.
—
Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2025
Without breaking out of the Vulcan mode, Oswalt nicely conveys the character’s unlikely charisma.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2025
White was a bit of a disappointment over his first four years in the league, actually showing some clear signs of regression in 2021-22 and 2022-23 before finally breaking out a couple of seasons ago.
—Matthew Schmidt, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Aug. 2025
The movie also begins after Superman ignites an international incident by stopping a war from breaking out between the fictional neighboring nations Boravia and Jarhanpur.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2025
In a video obtained by Fox News Digital, an unidentified man can be heard yelling racial slurs while being beaten in the street, with some claiming the male victim slapped the perpetrator prior to the fight breaking out.
—Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 6 Aug. 2025
After breaking out on The Good Place and seducing us to the Dark Side as a smoldering Sith Daddy (#savetheacolyte), Jacinto is at long last getting his due as a romantic leading man.
—Maureen Lee Lenker Published, EW.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2025
Without breaking out of the Vulcan mode, Oswalt nicely conveys the character’s unlikely charisma.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2025
White was a bit of a disappointment over his first four years in the league, actually showing some clear signs of regression in 2021-22 and 2022-23 before finally breaking out a couple of seasons ago.
—Matthew Schmidt, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Aug. 2025
The movie also begins after Superman ignites an international incident by stopping a war from breaking out between the fictional neighboring nations Boravia and Jarhanpur.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2025
In a video obtained by Fox News Digital, an unidentified man can be heard yelling racial slurs while being beaten in the street, with some claiming the male victim slapped the perpetrator prior to the fight breaking out.
—Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 6 Aug. 2025
After breaking out on The Good Place and seducing us to the Dark Side as a smoldering Sith Daddy (#savetheacolyte), Jacinto is at long last getting his due as a romantic leading man.
—Maureen Lee Lenker Published, EW.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for breaking out
Verb
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Kīlauea on Hawaii resumed erupting on Tuesday, shooting lava fountains up to 500 feet into the air for over 13 hours.—
Daniel Orton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Sep. 2025
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While on the Croisette, the producers got an alert about volcanoes erupting in Iceland.—
Mia Galuppo,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The president’s post was accompanied by a black and white video apparently taken with night vision equipment of a fast boat traveling with a number of occupants before suddenly exploding and bursting into flames.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
2 Sep. 2025
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One group is connected to solar flares exploding from small regions of the sun, while the other population is connected to larger, more powerful outbursts of plasma called coronal mass ejections (CMEs).—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
1 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Breaking out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breaking%20out. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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