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into the breach

into the breach

4 8.2
To step forward and help in a difficult situation when others cannot or will not
  • idiom
translation icon : tomar la iniciativa
  • How can we too rush into the breach, without getting underfoot?
  • step into the breach

So once more into the breach, dear friends.

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Examples

  • As the team faced a critical deadline, she bravely stepped into the breach to ensure the project was completed.

  • Meanwhile, some states and municipalities have stepped into the breach.

    Academic text (2006)
  • Let us go on once more into the breach, dear friends.

  • So once more into the breach, dear friends.

  • Well, once more into the breach, dear friends.

  • Once more into the breach, dear friends.

  • Once more into the breach, dear friends, once more...

    Blog text (17)
  • Once more into the breach, dear friends.

    Blog text (17)
  • With that voice shouting, "Once more into the breach!"

  • "Once more into the breach, brave friends," he said aloud.

    Fiction book (2002)

Synonyms

to step up
vsinto the breach
182 3.7

Take action and accept responsibility for a task or problem

implies acting specifically when others refuse or cannot in hard times
to step up to the plate
vsinto the breach
  • Informal
32 4.6

To take responsibility and act when a difficult situation happens

focuses on taking action when others are unwilling or unable in difficulty
to step into the breach
vsinto the breach
  • Informal
2 7.3

To take responsibility and act when someone else cannot

is about acting specifically in hard situations others refuse or cannot handle
to step to the fore
vsinto the breach
7.0

To offer to take charge of a group or task

emphasizes acting especially when others are unable or unwilling in difficulty
to dive into the fray
vsinto the breach
  • Informal
7.7

To join a noisy or angry argument and take part in it

is about stepping forward to act when others will not in a difficult moment

Antonyms

466 2.8

To stop taking part in a place or activity

Surface Forms

into the breach positive

Morphology

into + the + breach

The components 'into' (movement into) and 'breach' (an opening or gap) give a literal image of moving into an opening, so there is a measurable link between parts and sense. However, the conventional meaning 'to step forward and take action in a difficult situation' is a metaphorical/literary extension and not fully predictable for a B1 learner without prior exposure, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Into the breach comes from old war stories where a 'breach' was a hole in a city wall and soldiers went into the breach to fight through the gap, risking their lives. So today it means 'to step forward and take action' in a difficult situation when others will not.