breaking out (of)

verb

present participle of break out (of)
as in escaping
to get free from a dangerous or confining situation at last she decided to break out of her suffocating marriage

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for breaking out (of)
  1. escaping
  2. fleeing
  3. running away
  4. getting out
  5. running off
  6. flying
  7. clearing out
Verb
  • And announcing a move is not the same thing as escaping the tax.
    — Bilin Lin, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The court found that the directive to fast to death was implemented by targeting children first, while guards were deployed to prevent them from escaping, beating those who attempted to escape or eat.
    — Evelyne Musambi, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of escaping
Verb
  • Instead of stopping to help Batani-Khalfani, police alleged that Cardenas continued driving, fleeing the scene of the hit-and-run crash.
    — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Hollywood jobs have been fleeing for years for cheaper filming locales, and the restaurant industry has been shaken by mounting closures.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of fleeing
Verb
  • The video shows a black SUV speeding over a median and driving toward a man who is running away.
    — Lekan Oyekanmi, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Walker arrives at the scene and notices a man running away with a gun in hand.
    — Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of running away
Verb
  • Let’s help him and his amazing staff make the most of the last half of his presidency by getting out there and voting in 2 weeks!
    — Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Bootcap goes on the toe of ski boots to create an insulation barrier and prevents cold from getting in and heat from getting out.
    — Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of getting out
Verb
  • The Strawther familiar to Denver is the free-swinging gunner, trailing the play in transition to hunt 3s or running off weak-side screens or waiting for the ball in the corner.
    — Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Images released by police showed one person ripping down the flag and then another person running off with the flag.
    — Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of running off
Verb
  • D’haene said the company also wants to identify practical applications beyond leisure flying.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 21 Oct. 2026
  • For many years people believed that light was made out of particles flying in straight rays.
    — Philipp Strasberg, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of flying
Verb
  • The turmoil from Moore’s Michigan conduct continues to linger, 10 months later, but the process of clearing out his office in Schembechler Hall went remarkably swift.
    — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The nor'easter that has been bringing bands of rain and heavy winds to New York, New Jersey and the Tri-State Area is finally clearing out.
    — Justin Lewis, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of clearing out
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.

Browse Nearby Words

breaking out
breaking out (of)
breaking out (with)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Breaking out (of).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breaking%20out%20%28of%29. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of asunder

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 23

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All