make a break for it

verb

To attempt to escape; to flee; to run away.

Meanings

verbmake a break for it (third-person singular simple present makes a break for it, present participle making a break for it, simple past and past participle made a break for it)

present singular third person makes a break for it · participle present making a break for it · participle past made a break for it · past made a break for it

  1. idiomaticTo attempt to escape; to flee; to run away.

    "By Gar! it was as well that he made a break for it before the note reached us! I guess he won't show his face in this valley again."

    1915, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, chapter 3, in The Valley of Fear
    1 more example

    To restrain runaways who are too fragile to survive on the outside, Administrator Edward Farmilant of Chicago's Somerset nursing home gave the front door guard pictures of 36 patients who might make a break for it.

    2006 July 12, “Behavior: The New Runaways: Old Folks”, in Time

    Synonyms: make a run for it

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo attempt to escape; to flee; to run away.

Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

“make a break for it.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/make%20a%20break%20for%20it. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “make a break for it,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/make%20a%20break%20for%20it.

Source: make a break for it on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.