break out

verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"break-out" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“break out” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To escape, especially forcefully or defiantly.

Corpus desk

Index EN-break-out · break out · English

break out · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "B" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for break out
PropertyValue
Headwordbreak out
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “break out” in English

break outsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

break out is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 9 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for break out, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is break out, spelled B-R-E-A-K- -O-U-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    To escape, especially forcefully or defiantly.
  2. 2
    To rescue someone or aid their escape as in sense 1.
  3. 3
    To bring out from storage, use, or present.
  4. 4
    To separate (something) from a bundle.
  5. 5
    To take or force out by breaking.
  6. 6
    To begin suddenly; to emerge in a certain condition.
  7. 7
    To suddenly get pimples or a rash, especially on one's face.
  8. 8
    (Of a record, product, or company): to achieve widespread success.
  9. 9
    To remove snow from a road or sidewalk.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how break out appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. They broke out of prison in the middle of the night.
  2. The brigade succeeded in breaking out of the pocket and reunited with friendly forces.

This word in other languages

fugarse(Español)s'échapper(Français)ausbrechen(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "break out"?
"break out" is spelled B-R-E-A-K- -O-U-T.
What does "break out" mean?
As a verb, "break out" means: To escape, especially forcefully or defiantly.
What language does "break out" come from?
"break out" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list