as in erupted
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 broke out
Violence broke out Monday night after the West Indian American Day Parade in Brooklyn, New York.
—
Robert Birsel
gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Sep. 2025
Authorities at the time alleged that her boyfriend, Alexander Paul Wardell, then 30, locked them inside, trapping them when a fire broke out, according to the probable cause declaration obtained by PEOPLE.
—Kc Baker, People.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Trump ordered the deployment in early June after protests broke out in Los Angeles over immigration raids.
—Nik Popli, Time, 2 Sep. 2025
But Mitchell, who broke out on small screens during her seven-season arc on hit teen soap Pretty Little Liars, needed help turning her rough napkins sketches into a business.
—Natalie Jarvey, Fortune, 1 Sep. 2025
Tense scenes broke out on Sunday when the military was deployed to guard the presidential palace, while looters broke into a house owned by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati outside the capital Jakarta.
—Kathleen Magramo, CNN Money, 1 Sep. 2025
Demonstrations broke out this week over an announcement that Indonesia’s reigning politicians will be provided monthly housing allowances of around 50 million rupiahs (around $3,000) — nearly 10 times higher than Jakarta’s minimum wage.
—Sara Merican, Deadline, 29 Aug. 2025
The superstar quarterback might just have his best supporting cast yet, with superstar running back Derrick Henry back for Year 2 in Baltimore, and probably the best group of tight ends in the league with stars Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely, who broke out in his third season in the NFL.
—David Wilson, Miami Herald, 28 Aug. 2025
Pierre is already in the space business, as the star of DC Studios’ upcoming show Lanterns, and broke out with the Netflix hit Rebel Ridge.
—Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 28 Aug. 2025
Robert Birsel
gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Sep. 2025
Authorities at the time alleged that her boyfriend, Alexander Paul Wardell, then 30, locked them inside, trapping them when a fire broke out, according to the probable cause declaration obtained by PEOPLE.
—Kc Baker, People.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Trump ordered the deployment in early June after protests broke out in Los Angeles over immigration raids.
—Nik Popli, Time, 2 Sep. 2025
But Mitchell, who broke out on small screens during her seven-season arc on hit teen soap Pretty Little Liars, needed help turning her rough napkins sketches into a business.
—Natalie Jarvey, Fortune, 1 Sep. 2025
Tense scenes broke out on Sunday when the military was deployed to guard the presidential palace, while looters broke into a house owned by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati outside the capital Jakarta.
—Kathleen Magramo, CNN Money, 1 Sep. 2025
Demonstrations broke out this week over an announcement that Indonesia’s reigning politicians will be provided monthly housing allowances of around 50 million rupiahs (around $3,000) — nearly 10 times higher than Jakarta’s minimum wage.
—Sara Merican, Deadline, 29 Aug. 2025
The superstar quarterback might just have his best supporting cast yet, with superstar running back Derrick Henry back for Year 2 in Baltimore, and probably the best group of tight ends in the league with stars Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely, who broke out in his third season in the NFL.
—David Wilson, Miami Herald, 28 Aug. 2025
Pierre is already in the space business, as the star of DC Studios’ upcoming show Lanterns, and broke out with the Netflix hit Rebel Ridge.
—Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for broke out
Verb
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Waiting until Nelson had finished a song, Selman whisked him and his band offstage and into a bus — just as intense rain and lightning erupted all around them.—
David Browne,
Rolling Stone,
6 Sep. 2025
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Later, a geyser erupted, spawning eyeballs that float upward in bubbles.—
Charlie Fink,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The streets of Boise exploded in a burst of color and music on Sunday as the Boise Pride Parade swept down River Street.—
Sally Krutzig,
Idaho Statesman,
8 Sep. 2025
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As large language models like OpenAI’s GPT-3 and GPT-4 exploded onto the scene, students and teaching assistants alike began questioning whether assessments ought to be handled differently.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
7 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Broke out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/broke%20out. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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