to break the cycle of poverty
1
4.2
- idiom
- /breɪk ðə ˈsaɪkəl əv ˈpɑːvərti/
:
romper el ciclo de la pobreza
- If, on the other hand, assistance is provided in larger amounts at predictable times, even as a loan, it is much easier to plan, invest, and save—and thereby begin to break the cycle of poverty.
- help break the cycle of poverty
Examples
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How much would we save future generations of Americans—not just in tax money, but in lowered crime and drug rates and recouped contributions to society, if we just broke the cycle of poverty for this generation?
Blog text (12) -
Educating girls and integrating them into the labor force is especially critical to breaking the cycle of poverty.
Academic text (2010) -
And if done right, it will help to break the cycle of poverty as well.
Academic text (2003) -
The ultimate aim is to break the cycle of poverty, and the schools play a vital role in this regard.
Academic text (1991) -
Jobs and incomes are key to breaking the cycle of poverty.
Blog text (30) -
The challenge for the schools is to help break the cycle of poverty by empowering these students to experience life beyond their boundaries through an education of the imagination grounded in history.
Academic text (1991) -
Most important of all, demonstrating to villagers that they can take charge of bettering their own health and lives can give them the hope they need to break the cycle of poverty and disease once and for all.
Academic text (2004) -
We believe that substantially improving the education system and raising the number of university-educated Southern Sudanese leaders will transform lives and break the cycle of poverty.
Blog text (31) -
We should be focusing our attention on the solutions needed to break the cycles of poverty and not bashing someone who has committed his life to helping underprivileged kids, regardless of whether you agree or disagree with his approach.
Blog text (8) -
Education and job training programs aim to break the cycle of poverty for low-income families.
How Cyclical
- Offensive
1
7.4
1
4.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
break + the + cycle + of + poverty
The meaning is directly derivable from the constituents: 'break' (stop or interrupt) + 'cycle' (a repeating sequence) + 'poverty' yields 'stop the repeating pattern of poverty.' This metaphorical use of 'cycle' is common and appears in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the words should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Break the cycle of poverty uses a simple picture: imagine a wheel or circle, a cycle, of poverty passing from parents to children. To break it is to stop that wheel so poverty does not keep moving, in other words 'to end the pattern'.