break open

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The novel partnership between students and police to break open a decades-old murder case, with a love triangle at its center, was irresistible fodder for the media’s true-crime boom.

From Slate • Apr. 6, 2026

Others might be too wary of its potential value as a collectible to break open the packaging to the token itself, which carries instructions on how to access the online Remorse Portal to save Angus.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026

“The world itself is loud and overwhelming,” Kittelmann said, noting that meaning emerges when familiar connections break open, allowing attention to shift to the gaps between.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 3, 2026

Shaking can break open new rock surfaces, force out fluids that were previously sealed away, and redirect the flow of water through the subsurface.

From Science Daily • Nov. 25, 2025

How at work one morning, standing on the pig line, 1 felt something break open in my chest.

From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien