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break loose

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Idioms and Phrases

Escape from restraint, as in The boat broke loose from its moorings , or He finally broke loose from the school of abstract expressionism . This expression also appears in all hell breaks loose , which indicates a state of fury or chaos, as in When Dad finds out you broke his watch, all hell will break loose , or When the children saw the dead pigeon in the hall, all hell broke loose . [Early 1400s]

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

But all hell breaks loose when Elinor and her crew discover a chest of bondage toys and dominatrix accouterments during a particularly challenging moment in their journey.

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He and Chelsea get a sweet reunion moment on the beach before all hell breaks loose.

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We started slow, but I think it was by the second game that she broke loose.

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Last week, Trump demanded the freeing of all remaining Israeli hostages, declaring that “all hell” would break loose if they were not handed over by Saturday.

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Then there was the time a date tried to kiss him, he refused and all hell broke loose.

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Related Words

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

break it up breakneck

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