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Glite Dictionary
to break the back of

to break the back of

2 5.9
To finish the hardest part of a job to make the rest easier
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : superar la parte más difícil de
  • We finally broke the back of the rat insurgency with a battery-powered "zapper" trap.
  • break the back of the insurgency

So that was the thing that broke the back of the information loss hypothesis.

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Examples

  • So that was the thing that broke the back of the information loss hypothesis.

    Robinson Erhardt

  • Let me say that you have broken the back of the course.

  • Come back and hit the center and you are going to have to break the back of these forces.

  • This is fairly recent science that has shown that what it means is we have the tools to break the back of this epidemic.

    TED-Ed

  • In October, the British also broke the back of the revolt in the Middle Euphrates.

  • You've broken the back of the rebellion overnight.

    The Crimson Pirate (1952)

  • To make the project easier, we need to first break the back of the initial planning phase.

  • After weeks of hard work, the team finally broke the back of the project and moved on to simpler tasks.

  • We broke the back of the budget analysis quickly, allowing us to focus on the remaining details.

Synonyms

to break through
vsto break the back of
45 4.2

To overcome a difficulty after many tries and succeed

focuses on finishing the hardest part so the remaining work becomes easier
to crack through
vsto break the back of
  • US
6.4

To work quickly to finish many tasks in a short time

emphasizes completing the toughest part so later steps become easier

Antonyms

to complicate
101 4.1

To make something harder to understand or do

How Much Progress

to finish
∞ 1.0
to break the back of
2 5.9
to start
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

break the back of infinitive
breaking the back of present participle
breaks the back of third person singular
broke the back of past
broken the back of past participle

Morphology

break + the + back + of

The phrase uses a structural/metaphorical sense of "back" (the main support or hardest part) and "break" (to overcome or destroy), so there is a detectable link to the idea of getting past the hardest part of a task. However, that metaphorical mapping from literally breaking a physical "back" to completing the most difficult part is idiomatic and not fully predictable, so a B1 learner who only knows the words would likely only partially infer the intended meaning without prior exposure.

Etymology

The idiom break the back of may come from the image of break and back: imagine snapping the main support or spine of a big object so the rest gives way. So it means 'to complete the most difficult or important part of a task, making the rest much easier'.