break out — escape
phrasal verbB2IELTS 6+neutraloccasional
To escape from a place or situation, especially by force or secretly.
Say it like a native
Textbook The inmates effected an escape from the facility.
Native The inmates broke out of the prison.
'Break out of' is the everyday verb; 'effected an escape from the facility' is absurdly formal.
Pattern: break out (of something)
In use
- Three prisoners tried to break out of jail last night.crime
- Some people believe that strict security makes it almost impossible to break out of modern prisons.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ They broke out from the prison.
✓ They broke out of the prison.
'Break out OF' a place, not 'from'.
Common collocations
break out of— of jail, of prison, of the camp, and escape
Don't confuse it
Not the same as 'break in' (to enter by force) or 'break up' (to end a relationship).
Related
- break out (start suddenly) — Another meaning of 'break out' is 'start suddenly'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.