big break
38
3.2
- noun
- /bɪɡ breɪk/
- Informal
:
gran oportunidad
- Do you realize what a big break this is for us, and for your career, as a matter of fact?
- get a big break
I believe this was her first big, big break and it is not the last of her.
- I believe this was her first big, big break and it is not the last of her.
- Learning is readying yourself for that moment you get the big break.
- And then what was, what would you say was your sort of first big break?
- We attribute all of our success to other people or like these big breaks.
- He gets his big break by scooping up the child of the Telegraph operator.
- So you get that big break and and not like, like Cass said, not burning yourself out.
- Because she got her big break with her product.
- And so I would call that my first big break because being in television and making that kind of noise when ESPN was so prolific, that was one thing.
- And I'd quit selling drugs again, you know, it was just living off the label and, you know, just recorded this album, fixing to try to, you know, have my big break.
- And you know, Saul obviously is, you know, Breaking Bad was his big break being bad.
- And her big break was she landed the Sam's Club part of Walmart.
- So when I finally, I felt like I think you'll know you, you'll agree that people say, what's your big break?
- Like, I'm like, I'm not meeting you or like people are not meeting you when you got your first big break.
Examples
-
Believe me, this is the big break you've been looking for.
Fiction book (1995) -
She came around last Christmas, bragging about getting her big break.
-
But I think your big, your real big break moment is going to happen in two weeks time.
-
Because she got her big break with her product.
-
This is your big break.
-
Look, Richard, you have been working so hard to get a big break at work.
-
My big break arrived about a year out of film school.
Academic text (2011) -
But my big break came the day I surprised them sitting together in the cafeteria.
Fiction book (2001) -
A 20-something actress looking for her big break and Mr. Right in the city of dreams.
Blog text (27) -
Graham found his calling, and in 1949, got his big break, preaching at a tent revival in Los Angeles.
Synonyms
443
2.7
A sudden chance that leads to success
13
3.2
A sudden chance that helps you succeed
Antonyms
How Important
242
3.9
- Informal
38
3.2
- Informal
443
2.7
∞
2.0
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase's meaning is directly compositional: 'big' (important) modifies 'break' (a stroke of luck or opportunity), so a B1 learner who knows both senses can infer 'an important opportunity'. This adjective + noun pattern is common cross-linguistically and follows ordinary English composition, making the expression immediately understandable from its parts.
Etymology
The noun big break may come from the image of a large break or opening in a door or wall that suddenly lets someone through. So the phrase means a sudden, important 'opportunity' or 'success' that helps your career.