outbreak

English

Etymology

From Middle English outbreken, oute-breken, from Old English ūtābrecan (“to break out”), equivalent to out- +‎ break. Cognate with Saterland Frisian uutbreeke (“to break out; burst out”), West Frisian útbrekke (“to break out”), Dutch uitbreken (“to break out, burst out”), German ausbrechen (“to break out, erupt”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

outbreak (plural outbreaks)

  1. An eruption, sudden appearance
    Any epidemic outbreak causes understandable panic
  2. A sudden increase.
    There has been an outbreak of vandalism at the school.
  3. An outburst or sudden eruption, especially of violence and mischief.
    There has been an outbreak of broken windows in the street.
  4. (uncountable) A geological layer that breaks out

Synonyms

Antonyms

Translations

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Verb

outbreak (third-person singular simple present outbreaks, present participle outbreaking, simple past outbroke, past participle outbroken)

  1. (intransitive) To burst out
  2. (intransitive) To break forth

See also

Anagrams

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