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- break the news
break the news
break the news (to someone)
to tell someone some important news, usually bad news. The doctor had to break the news to Jane about her husband's cancer. I hope that the doctor broke the news gently.
break the news
to make known new information
Detectives broke the news to Mrs. Allen that her husband's body had been identified. Usage notes: usually said about information that causes sadness or worry
break the news
Make something known, as in We suspected that she was pregnant but waited for her to break the news to her in-laws. This term, in slightly different form ( break a matter or break a business), dates from the early 1500s. Another variant is the 20th-century journalistic phrase, break a story, meaning "to reveal a news item or make it available for publication."