Added 9 October 2026
outbreak
/ˈaʊtbɹeɪk/ noun
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about outbreak at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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A sudden violent spontaneous occurrence (usually of some undesirable condition).
the outbreak of hostilities
Origin
From Middle English outbreken, oute-breken, from Old English ūtābrecan (“to break out”), equivalent to out- + break. Cognate with Saterland Frisian uutbreeke (“to break out, burst out”), West Frisian útbrekke (“to break out”), Dutch uitbreken (“to break out, burst out”), German ausbrechen (“to break out, erupt”). The noun is cognate with Saterland Frisian Uutbreek (“outbreak”), West Frisian útbrek (“outbreak”), Dutch uitbraak (“outbreak”), and German Ausbruch (“outbreak”), and is comparable to Danish udbrud (“outbreak”), Faroese and Icelandic útbrot (“rash”), Norwegian utbrudd (“outbreak”), and Swedish utbrott (“outbreak”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)