break containment

verb

Of a post or piece of media, to be shown to a larger audience than originally intended; typically either to a non-fandom community or to an outside platform.

“This meme broke containment when it was posted to Reddit.”

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Meanings

verbbreak containment (third-person singular simple present breaks containment, present participle breaking containment, simple past broke containment, past participle broken containment)

present singular third person breaks containment · participle present breaking containment · past broke containment · participle past broken containment

  1. social mediaOf a post or piece of media, to be shown to a larger audience than originally intended; typically either to a non-fandom community or to an outside platform.

    This meme broke containment when it was posted to Reddit.

    1 more example

    So, there you have it: Online has finally, and fully, broken containment, in the most drastic way possible.

    2026 September 18, William Hughes, The AV Club
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see break, containment.

Origin

Originated in this sense the microblogging and social media platform Tumblr. Derived from the title of the horror video game SCP – Containment Breach, set inside a facility in which paranormal entities have escaped containment.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

break containment. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/break%20containment

MLA

“break containment.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/break%20containment. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “break containment,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/break%20containment.

Source: break containment on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.