break the news (to someone)

break the news (to someone)
break the news (to someone)
to tell someone some important news, usually bad news. (See also break something to someone.) •

The doctor had to break the news to Jane about her husband's cancer.

I hope that the doctor broke the news gently.


Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • break the news to — give the bad news to , tell someone of unfortunate things …   English contemporary dictionary

  • break the news — verb To inform someone of something first, usually used when it will be difficult to tell the person …   Wiktionary

  • news — [ nuz ] noun uncount *** 1. ) information about something that has happened recently: I m afraid I ve got some bad news. I wrote to John telling him all the latest news. news for: Good news for home owners! news of/about: Friends expressed shock… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • news */*/*/ — UK [njuːz] / US [nuz] noun [uncountable] Get it right: news: Although the word news has an s on the end, it is an uncountable noun, so: ▪  it is never used in the plural ▪  it does not follow a Wrong: She now lives in exile, but the good news are …   English dictionary

  • news — W1S1 [nju:z US nu:z] n [U] [Date: 1400 1500; Origin: new] 1.) information about something that has happened recently ▪ I m not sure how he s going to react to the news. ▪ The good news is that tomorrow will be fine and sunny. ▪ You seem upset not …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • break — vb Break, crack, burst, bust, snap, shatter, shiver are comparable as general terms meaning fundamentally to come apart or cause to come apart. Break basically implies the operation of a stress or strain that will cause a rupture, a fracture, a… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • break — break1 W1S1 [breık] v past tense broke [brəuk US brouk] past participle broken [ˈbrəukən US ˈbrou ] ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(separate into pieces)¦ 2¦(bones)¦ 3¦(machines)¦ 4¦(rules/laws)¦ 5¦(promise/agreement)¦ 6¦(stop/rest)¦ 7¦(end something)¦ …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • news — noun (U) 1 information about something that has happened recently: That s great news! | Sit down and tell me all your news. (+ about/of): There hasn t been any news of him since he left home. (+ that): Our delegates returned with the news that… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • break — 1. verb 1) the mirror broke Syn: shatter, smash, crack, snap, fracture, fragment, splinter, fall to bits, fall to pieces; split, burst; informal bust 2) she had broken her leg Syn …   Thesaurus of popular words

  • The Seven Dials Mystery — infobox Book | name = The Seven Dials Mystery title orig = translator = image caption = Dust jacket illustration of the first UK edition author = Agatha Christie cover artist = Not known country = United Kingdom language = English series = genre …   Wikipedia

  • The Barber of Seville (play) — Though poorly received at first, Beaumarchais worked some fast editing of the script, turning the play into a roaring success after three days. The play s title might be a pun on Tirso de Molina s earlier play El Burlador de Sevilla ( The… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”