Meaning & use
break into bits
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Meanings
phraseidiom
To fall apart or be smashed into many small pieces.
Grammar: Used with no object when the thing itself shatters: The glass broke into bits. Add an object after 'break': She broke the vase into bits.
Patterns
- something breaks into bits
- break something into bits
The old plate fell off the shelf and broke into bits on the floor.
He dropped the mirror, and it broke into bits before he could catch it.
The dry cake broke into bits as soon as I touched it.
phraseidiomfigurative
To be destroyed or reduced to nothing, especially hopes or plans.
Grammar: Figurative use, usually about abstract things such as hopes, plans or a reputation; no object is needed.
Patterns
- something breaks into bits
- break something into bits
Her plans for the trip broke into bits when the flight was canceled.
One bad report can make a good reputation break into bits overnight.
Common combinations
- break into tiny bits
- The cookie broke into tiny bits when I tried to pick it up.
- break into a thousand bits
- The windshield broke into a thousand bits in the crash.
- fall and break into bits
- The cup fell and broke into bits on the tiles.
- break something into bits
- The machine breaks old boxes into bits for recycling.
- shatter into bits
- The frozen pond shattered into bits under his boots.
Synonyms and how they differ
- shatter
- Stronger and more dramatic; it suggests a sudden, violent breaking, while 'break into bits' is plainer and works for everyday things.
- smash
- Focuses on the force that causes the damage, not on the many pieces; you smash a window but you say it broke into bits afterward.
- crumble
- Used for things that turn into powder or small crumbs slowly, such as dry bread, not for glass or china.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: break into bits or break into? break into bits or bits and pieces?
break into bits vs break into
This means to enter a place by force, or to suddenly start doing something: Thieves broke into the house. 'Break into bits' is only about breaking apart.
break into bits vs bits and pieces
This means a mixed collection of small things, not a broken object: I packed my bits and pieces in a box.
Practice
The mirror slipped from her hand and ______ on the bathroom floor.
Choose one answer.
The past tense 'broke' fits the finished action, and the fixed phrase keeps the plural 'bits'. 'Broke into a bit' is wrong because the phrase always uses the plural, and 'breaks' cannot describe a past event.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “break into bits”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.