break into

phraseB22 meaningsNot compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

To break into a place is to enter it by force. A window, a lock, and somebody else's house.

It is the everyday phrase for burglary. There are several other senses worth knowing: breaking into a run means starting suddenly, breaking into song is the same idea, and breaking into a market means entering a business somebody else already occupies. Breaking into a note means starting to spend it. All of them share the idea of a sudden entry into something previously closed.

Definitions of break into

1phrasebreak intoTo enter a building or vehicle by force.B2
“Somebody had tried to break into the shed.”
2phrasebeginTo begin doing something suddenly.B2
“She would break into song at the slightest excuse.”

Practised in Phrasal Verbs, A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 14 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

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break into

phraseB22 meaningsNot compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

To break into a place is to enter it by force. A window, a lock, and somebody else's house.

Definitions of break into

1phrasebreak intoTo enter a building or vehicle by force.B2
“Somebody had tried to break into the shed.”
2phrasebeginTo begin doing something suddenly.B2
“She would break into song at the slightest excuse.”

Practised in Phrasal Verbs, A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 14 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word