Example
“Two council members broke ranks and voted against their party's proposal.”
Dictionary details
Related idioms
Expressions connected by reviewed component words or topic tags.
make or break
Neutral · CEFR B2
to be the single decisive factor between success and failure
break cover
Neutral · CEFR B2
to stop concealing one's true position or intentions and make them known
break even
Neutral · CEFR B2
to reach the point where revenue equals costs — no profit, no loss
break new ground
Neutral · CEFR B2
to do something that has never been done before; to pioneer
break the back of
Neutral · CEFR B2
to get past the main obstacle so that the remaining work becomes easier
move fast and break things
Informal · CEFR C1
a philosophy of shipping quickly and accepting breakage in order to learn faster
Source methodology
Meanings, register, CEFR, and examples come from the reviewed dictionary record. Expression notes may describe a reviewed present-day word picture or a background note; they are not presented as verified etymology.