break open

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break open

verb breaks open · breaking open · broke open · broken open

idiomatic To make a breakthrough on a mystery or problem; to cause a breakthrough to be made. I think I broke this case open.
Similar: force
ambitransitive Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see break, open. Lacking a corkscrew, he broke the bottle open.

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MLA

"break open." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/break%20open. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

break open. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/break%20open

Chicago

"break open." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/break%20open.

BibTeX

@misc{break_open_2026,
  title = {break open},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/break%20open},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}