break out
phrasal verbbreak out
- (of war, fighting or other unpleasant events) to start suddenly
- They had escaped to America shortly before war broke out in 1939.
- Fighting had broken out between rival groups of fans.
- Fire broke out during the night.
Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
break out (of something)
- to escape from a place or situation
- Several prisoners broke out of the jail.
- She needed to break out of her daily routine and do something exciting.