breakout
noun
Breakout — the dramatic, forceful escape from prison or confinement
Definition
An escape from jail; "the breakout was carefully planned"
In depth
A breakout is an escape from jail, the word describing a forceful, often dramatic departure from confinement, frequently planned in advance and executed with deliberate strategy. Beyond its literal carceral sense, breakout has extended into business and cultural vocabulary, describing a sudden, remarkable rise to prominence or success.
Origin
The word is a transparent English compound, joining 'break' with 'out,' both ancient and thoroughly assimilated English terms. Its extension into figurative use, describing sudden prominence or success, reflects a common pattern in English by which physical escape from confinement becomes a natural metaphor for breaking free from obscurity or limitation.
Usage examples
"The breakout was carefully planned, with accomplices waiting outside at the precise moment the fence was breached."
"Her breakout role in the film launched a career that no one, least of all herself, had anticipated."
"Analysts called it the breakout year for the previously obscure technology, suddenly adopted across the entire industry."
How to use it
Breakout is broadly useful across both its literal sense, prison escape, and its figurative sense, sudden notable success, and writers should rely on accompanying context to clarify which meaning is intended in any given passage.
Related concepts
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