idiom · informal
break the ice
/breɪk ðə ˈaɪs/break·the·ICE
to do or say something to relieve tension or get conversation started
Examples
“He told a joke to break the ice at the meeting.”
“To break the ice on the first day, the teacher asked everyone to introduce themselves.”
“A simple compliment can help break the ice with new people.”
Band 8 sentence
“To break the ice at the networking event, she asked a light, open question that invited everyone to speak.”
Collocations
- break the ice with someone
- use a joke to break the ice
Word family
Common mistakes
break ice→break the ice
broken the ice→break the ice / broke the ice
Say it for a higher band
5start a conversation→6get the ball rolling→7+break the ice
Synonyms
start a conversation
get the ball rolling
Easily confused
get the ball rolling
“She told a short story to break the ice before the presentation began.”
Related words
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In Relationships
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