What is the meaning of break out?

verb

  • Start abruptly.
    • usage: "After 1989, peace broke out in the former East Bloc"
  • Begin suddenly and sometimes violently.
    • usage: "He broke out shouting"
  • Move away or escape suddenly.
    • usage: "The horses broke from the stable"; "Three inmates broke jail"; "Nobody can break out-this prison is high security"
  • Take from stowage in preparation for use.
  • Become raw or open.
    • usage: "He broke out in hives"; "My skin breaks out when I eat strawberries"; "Such boils tend to recrudesce"
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
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APAWordNet. (2010). break out. Retrieved September 22, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/break_out/definitions/1261670
ChicagoWordNet. 2010. "break out" http://smartdefine.org/break_out/definitions/1261670 (accessed September 22, 2026).
HarvardWordNet 2010, break out, Smart Define, viewed 22 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/break_out/definitions/1261670>.
MLAWordNet. "break out" 23 October 2010. Web. 22 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/break_out/definitions/1261670>