break loose


Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Financial, Idioms, Encyclopedia.
Related to break loose: call for, roughshod, veered
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.break loose - be unleashed; emerge with violence or noise; "His anger exploded"
change state, turn - undergo a transformation or a change of position or action; "We turned from Socialism to Capitalism"; "The people turned against the President when he stole the election"
2.break loose - run away from confinement; "The convicted murderer escaped from a high security prison"
break away, break out, break - move away or escape suddenly; "The horses broke from the stable"; "Three inmates broke jail"; "Nobody can break out--this prison is high security"
escape from, shake off, throw off, shake - get rid of; "I couldn't shake the car that was following me"
elude, evade, bilk - escape, either physically or mentally; "The thief eluded the police"; "This difficult idea seems to evade her"; "The event evades explanation"
flee, take flight, fly - run away quickly; "He threw down his gun and fled"
slip - move smoothly and easily; "the bolt slipped into place"; "water slipped from the polished marble"
run away - escape from the control of; "Industry is running away with us all"
get away, escape - remove oneself from a familiar environment, usually for pleasure or diversion; "We escaped to our summer house for a few days"; "The president of the company never manages to get away during the summer"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
يُفلت، يتملص، يهربيَهْرُب
uprchnoututéctutrhnout se
bryde ud
hlaupast á brottlosna
firar etmekkaçmak

break

(breik) past tense broke (brouk) : past participle brəken (ˈbroukən) verb
1. to divide into two or more parts (by force).
2. (usually with off/away) to separate (a part) from the whole (by force).
3. to make or become unusable.
4. to go against, or not act according to (the law etc). He broke his appointment at the last minute.
5. to do better than (a sporting etc record).
6. to interrupt. She broke her journey in London.
7. to put an end to. He broke the silence.
8. to make or become known. They gently broke the news of his death to his wife.
9. (of a boy's voice) to fall in pitch.
10. to soften the effect of (a fall, the force of the wind etc).
11. to begin. The storm broke before they reached shelter.
noun
1. a pause. a break in the conversation.
2. a change. a break in the weather.
3. an opening.
4. a chance or piece of (good or bad) luck. This is your big break.
ˈbreakable adjective
(negative unbreakable) likely to break. breakable toys.
noun
(usually in plural) something likely to break.
ˈbreakage (-kidʒ) noun
the act of breaking, or its result(s).
ˈbreaker noun
a (large) wave which breaks on rocks or the beach.
ˈbreakdown noun
1. (often nervous breakdown) a mental collapse.
2. a mechanical failure causing a stop. The car has had another breakdown. See also break down.
break-inbreak in(to)ˈbreakneck adjective
(usually of speed) dangerous. He drove at breakneck speed.
breakoutbreak outˈbreakthrough noun
a sudden solution of a problem leading to further advances, especially in science.
ˈbreakwater noun
a barrier to break the force of the waves.
break away
to escape from control. The dog broke away from its owner.
break down
1. to use force on (a door etc) to cause it to open.
2. to stop working properly. My car has broken down.
3. to fail. The talks have broken down.
4. to be overcome with emotion. She broke down and wept.
break in(to)
1. to enter (a house etc) by force or unexpectedly (noun ˈbreak-in. The Smiths have had two break-ins recently).
2. to interrupt (someone's conversation etc).
break loose
to escape from control. The dog has broken loose.
break off
to stop. She broke off in the middle of a sentence.
break out
1. to appear or happen suddenly. War has broken out.
2. to escape (from prison, restrictions etc). A prisoner has broken out (noun ˈbreakout).
break out in
to (suddenly) become covered in a rash, in sweat etc. I'm allergic to strawberries. They make me break out in a rash.
break the ice
to overcome the first shyness etc. Let's break the ice by inviting our new neighbours for a meal.
break up
1. to divide, separate or break into pieces. He broke up the old furniture and burnt it; John and Mary broke up (= separated from each other) last week.
2. to finish or end. The meeting broke up at 4.40.
make a break for it
to make an (attempt to) escape. When the guard is not looking, make a break for it.

loose

(luːs) adjective
1. not tight; not firmly stretched. a loose coat; This belt is loose.
2. not firmly fixed. This button is loose.
3. not tied; free. The horses are loose in the field.
4. not packed; not in a packet. loose biscuits.
ˈloosely adverb
ˈlooseness noun
ˈloosen verb
1. to make or become loose. She loosened the string; The screw had loosened and fallen out.
2. to relax (eg a hold). He loosened his grip.
ˌloose-ˈleaf adjective
(of a notebook etc) made so that pages can easily be added or removed.
break loose
to escape. The prisoner broke loose.
let loose
to free from control. The circus trainer has let the lions loose.

a loose (not lose) screw.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
References in classic literature ?
In such cases one horse frightens another, until all are alarmed, and struggle to break loose. In camps where there are great numbers of Indians, with their horses, a night alarm of the kind is tremendous.
"Expect all hell to break loose," he cautioned me, "but don't mind it.
Love is his tyrant, and lives lordly in him and lawlessly, and being himself a king, leads him on, as a tyrant leads a State, to the performance of any reckless deed by which he can maintain himself and the rabble of his associates, whether those whom evil communications have brought in from without, or those whom he himself has allowed to break loose within him by reason of a similar evil nature in himself.
With her means of protection gone, Lys was now at the mercy of the hatchet-man; nor was it many hours before he had caught her at the base of the cliff and seized her; but as he bore her triumphantly aloft toward his cave, she had managed to break loose and escape him.
When the workmen found it was impossible for me to break loose, they cut all the strings that bound me; whereupon I rose up, with as melancholy a disposition as ever I had in my life.