break the mold

verb

To depart from a traditional pattern; to defy convention.

“When God made her, He broke the mold.”

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Meanings

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

present singular third person breaks the mold · participle present breaking the mold · past broke the mold · participle past broken the mold · alternative break the mould

  1. idiomaticTo depart from a traditional pattern; to defy convention.

    A man has to be what he is, Joey. Can't break the mould. I tried it and it didn't work for me.

    1953, A. B. Guthrie Jr., Jack Sher, Shane, spoken by Shane (Alan Ladd)
    2 more examples

    President Bush joined in; his 1991 education message called for new kinds of schools, ones that "broke the mold".

    1997, Theodore R. Sizer, Horace's School: Redesigning the American High School, page 12

    Middle-aged and scarred, a Mexican journalist is breaking the mold of social media influencers with a message of pure positivity that resonates in dark times.

    2021 November 26, Oscar Lopez, “‘Today’s Outfit Is Confidence’: Atypical TikTok Star Enchants Mexico”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
  2. idiomaticTo make it impossible for an identical copy to be made.

    When God made her, He broke the mold.

    2 more examples

    When they made that one, they broke the mold.

    When they made him, they broke the mold. lt was a cliche that had been spoken about any number of men, for any number of different reasons.

    2001, Adam Troy Castro, Spider-Man: Revenge of the Sinister Six

Origin

From the use of molds to make multiple replicas of solid objects using moldable materials.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

German aus dem Rahmen fallen
  • aus dem Rahmen fallento depart from tradition
Spanish romper el molde, romper esquemas
  • romper el moldeto depart from tradition
  • romper esquemasto depart from tradition
Cite this entry
APA

break the mold. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/break%20the%20mold

MLA

“break the mold.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/break%20the%20mold. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “break the mold,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/break%20the%20mold.

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