phrasal verb · neutral
break out
/breɪk aʊt/BREAK OUT
1) (of war/disease/fire) to start suddenly; 2) to escape from a place; 3) to appear on the skin (spots)
Examples
“A fire broke out in the warehouse last night.”
“Several prisoners broke out of the jail.”
“He broke out in a rash after eating the seafood.”
Band 8 sentence
“When the epidemic broke out, authorities imposed strict travel restrictions to contain the spread.”
Collocations
- break out + fire/war/disease
- break out of + prison/jail
Word family
Common mistakes
break out from prison→break out of prison
breakout (verb)→break out
it broke out last night (meaning: it started last night) used for events only→a fire broke out last night
Say it for a higher band
5start→6erupt→7+break out
Synonyms
erupt
escape
Easily confused
break free
“The animal managed to break free from its cage and ran into the forest.”
Related words
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