breakout

Etymology

It is formed from English break + out, as a noun use of the phrasal verb break out.^[2][3][4][5] The OED describes it as a conversion of the verb phrase.^[2] The verbal phrase itself goes back to Old English ūtābrecan.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

An outbreak, as of hostilities or disease: 1746, in Meadowcourt's Rise and Progress of the Papal Power.^[2] Etymonline and Merriam-Webster date the noun to 1820, in the sense of an act of issuing or bursting out,^[5][6] and Dictionary.com to 1810–20.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The OED's revised entry (2024) moves the first record back to 1746, for an outbreak of hostilities or disease.^[2] The sense of breaking through a barrier, especially a military offensive that breaks through a defensive line, is recorded from 1799, and a forcible escape from prison from 1839, in a Sydney newspaper.^[2] Walter Scott used it in 1820 for a noisy, violent disturbance, a fracas,^[2] and in Australia and New Zealand it meant a bout of heavy drinking from 1847 to 1923.^[2] An outbreak of acne or another skin complaint is recorded from 1897.^[2] Later technical senses include a sudden attack by a defending team in rugby or hockey (1900), a stock price breaking above a resistance level or below a support level (1932) and the splintering of the edge of wood or stone as it is cut (1961).^[2] The adjective, for a sudden, unexpected success, began in the American entertainment industry in 1947;^[2] Merriam-Webster dates it to 1960,^[6] and the Collegiate to 1978.^[7] From 1964 it also described a smaller group or session that splits off from a main conference.^[2][3]

Timeline

• 1746 – an outbreak of hostilities, disease and the like.^[2]
• 1799 – a breaking through a barrier, especially a military breakthrough.^[2]
• 1820 – a noisy, violent disturbance, in Walter Scott's The Abbot.^[2]
• 1839 – an escape from prison.^[2]
• 1847 – in Australia and New Zealand, a drinking bout (obsolete by 1923).^[2]
• 1897 – an outbreak of acne or another skin disease.^[2]
• 1932 – on the stock market, a sharp move of a price beyond a resistance or support level.^[2]
• 1947 – adjective, producing sudden, unexpected success.^[2]
• 1964 – adjective, of a smaller group or session split off from a conference.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A forceful escape from confinement, especially from a prison: Three inmates took part in the breakout.^[3][2][6]
2. A forceful breaking out from a restraining situation, especially a military attack that breaks through or out of enemy lines.^[6][7][2]
3. An outbreak of something, as of acne or a disease.^[2][3]
4. A detailed breakdown of statistical data into its parts.^[8][6]
5. A small meeting or session split off from a larger conference.^[6][2]
6. On the stock market, a sharp move of a price above a resistance level or below a support level.^[2]
7. In well drilling, the removing and disconnecting of pipes, rods or casings.^[6]

Adjective

1. Bringing sudden or striking success, especially after earlier, lesser efforts: her breakout novel.^[6][7][2][3]
2. Of a group, session or room that splits off from a main conference for discussion.^[2][3]

Related words

• outbreak
• break
• out
• breakaway

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin