break the news
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.
So when I called him to break the news, he started crying.
From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026
It fell to Barshay to break the news.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026
Balde said he was "devastated" and had to break the news to his wife.
From Barron's • Dec. 17, 2025
In April 1968, when Martin Luther King Jr. was killed, it fell to Robert F. Kennedy to break the news to a largely Black crowd in Indianapolis.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 6, 2025
“Can you give it a few minutes so I can break the news to them? It’ll be easier coming from me.”
From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott
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From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.