phrasal verb / idiom · neutral
break the mould
UK/breɪk ðə məʊld/US/breɪk ðə moʊld/MOULD
do something in a completely new way; change an established pattern
Examples
“Many tech companies try to break the mould by offering flexible working.”
“To raise creativity, some teachers break the mould of traditional lectures.”
“Start-ups often break the mould when they challenge old business models.”
Band 8 sentence
“To tackle inequality in education we need policies that genuinely break the mould rather than cosmetic reforms.”
Collocations
- break the mould of
- mould-breaking approach
Word family
Common mistakes
break the model→break the mould
to break mould→to break the mould
Say it for a higher band
5do something different→6change the way things are done→7+break the mould
Synonyms
innovate
do things differently
Easily confused
break the mould vs innovate
“The small firm broke the mould by offering a subscription for textbooks.”
Related words
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