Meaning & use
broke the fourth wall
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“broke the fourth wall” is a form of “break the fourth wall”.
Meaning
phraseidiom
In a play, film, or book, a character spoke directly to the audience or showed awareness of being fictional.
Grammar: This is a fixed phrase in the past tense. The base form is 'break the fourth wall'.
Patterns
- someone broke the fourth wall
- break the fourth wall
In the final scene, the main character broke the fourth wall and spoke directly to the camera.
The comedy is famous because the hero often broke the fourth wall and asked the audience for advice.
She broke the fourth wall by mentioning the name of the actor playing her father.
Word forms
| base form | break the fourth wall |
|---|---|
| third person singular | breaks the fourth wall |
| past tense | broke the fourth wall |
| past participle | broken the fourth wall |
| -ing form | breaking the fourth wall |
Common combinations
- break the fourth wall
- The director decided to break the fourth wall in the opening scene.
- directly to the camera
- He broke the fourth wall by talking directly to the camera.
- a fourth-wall moment
- The show has a funny fourth-wall moment when the narrator interrupts.
Synonyms and how they differ
- address the audience
- This is a literal description of what happens; 'break the fourth wall' is the specific technical term for doing it in a fictional work.
Word family
- fourth wall noun
- The imaginary barrier between the performers and the audience.
Commonly confused: broke the fourth wall or break the ice?
broke the fourth wall vs break the ice
This means to make people feel more comfortable in a social situation. It has nothing to do with theater or films.
Practice
The actor suddenly turned to the camera and said, 'You're probably wondering why I'm here.' This means he ______.
Choose one answer.
'Broke the fourth wall' means the character spoke directly to the audience. 'Broke the ice' is about making people comfortable, 'broke the news' is about telling someone bad news, and 'broke the record' is about achieving a new best result.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “broke the fourth wall”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.