idiom / phrasal phrase · informal
break bread
/breɪk brɛd/BREAD
speakingtask2
to share a meal with someone, often to show friendship or reconciliation
Examples
“They broke bread together after years of disagreement.”
“Business partners often break bread to build trust.”
“Let's break bread and try to sort out our differences.”
Band 8 sentence
“If both communities are willing to break bread, long-standing tensions might ease over time.”
Collocations
- break bread with someone
- sit down and break bread
Word family
break (v) verbbread (n) noun
Common mistakes
break the bread (literal: break the physical bread)→break bread (idiomatic)
to break breads→to break bread
Say it for a higher band
5share a meal→6have a meal together→7+break bread
Synonyms
share a meal
dine together
Easily confused
break bread vs share a meal
“After the negotiations, the delegates broke bread and relaxed.”
Related words
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In break …
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