broken out

past participle of break out
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of broken out Violent protests have broken out in the Mexican state of Michoacán over the murder of an outspoken anti-crime mayor, who was killed over the weekend while taking part in a Day of the Dead celebration. Max Saltman, CNN Money, 4 Nov. 2025 By the time the wage board announced that the lowest-grade workers would receive 12,500 Bangladeshi taka ($102) per month, full-fledged riots had broken out, drawing police gunfire that killed three workers and resulting in a factory blaze that caused the death of a fourth. Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 27 Oct. 2025 The ratio has also broken out above the 40-week moving average — an additional positive catalyst in relative terms. Katie Stockton, CNBC, 6 Oct. 2025 In Pennsylvania, lawmakers have still not broken out of the impasse, spelling financial distress for schools and counties that rely particularly heavily on state funding. Isabella Volmert, Fortune, 16 Sep. 2025 No Spanish filmmaker has broken out to such quick auteurist stardom in the last five years than Alauda Ruiz de Azúa. John Hopewell, Variety, 9 Sep. 2025 Protests have also broken out due to ICE checkpoints popping up around the city and the police increasing curfew zones for minors. Charna Flam, People.com, 26 Aug. 2025 Instead, they’re broken out in distinct stages, with each stage typically ending in a boss fight. Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 25 Aug. 2025 The report is a compilation of STAAR scores in every campus in the city, including schools in 12 school districts and 13 charter school networks, broken out by city council district. Silas Allen, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for broken out
Verb
  • When Posa slammed Washington quarterback Demond Williams to the ground for a game-clincher on fourth-and-6, some 70,000 fans erupted as if thawed from a long freeze.
    Ira Gorawara, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2025
  • Footage of the crash showed a towering wave of smoke and flames billowing skyward near the airport after the low-flying plane struggled to climb and then erupted into an enormous fireball on impact.
    Ray Sanchez, CNN Money, 8 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • But things do appear to have exploded dramatically in the last half-decade.
    Michael Cox, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025
  • Drug-overdose numbers exploded.
    David Merritt Johns, The Atlantic, 2 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Broken out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/broken%20out. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.

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