Word.ws English Dictionary

break the ice

UK/ˈbɹeɪk ði ˈaɪs/

break the ice verb: to start to get to know people to avoid social awkwardness and formality.

Verb

break the ice (third-person singular simple present breaks the ice, present participle breaking the ice, simple past broke the ice, past participle broken the ice)

  1. (idiomatic) To start to get to know people to avoid social awkwardness and formality.
    • Including a few fun details in large group introductions can be a great way to break the ice.
  2. (idiomatic) To introduce a conversation.
    • If it be so ſir, that you are the man Muſt ſteed us all, and me amongſt the reſt: And if you breake the ice and do this ſeeke, Atchieve the elder: ſet the yonger free, For our acceſſe, whose hap ſhall be to have her, will not so graceleſſe be, to be ingrate.c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
  3. (idiomatic) To surmount initial difficulties; to overcome obstacles and make a beginning.
  4. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see break, the, ice.

break the ice meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Bengali and Kannada

break the ice in Hindi

to start to get to know people, by avoiding awkwardness
बात-चीत की औपचारिकता हटाना bāt-cīt kī aupcāriktā haṭānā

break the ice in Tamil

தொடக்கச் சிக்கலகற்று, தொடக்கச் சிக்கல் அகற்று

break the ice in Bengali

কথোপকথনের সূচনা করা, কোনো কিছুর সূচনা করা

break the ice in Kannada

ಕಗ್ಗಂಟು ಪರಿಹರಿಸು, ಬಿಗುಮಾನವನ್ನು ಬಿಡು, ಮಾತುಕತೆಗೆ ಆರಂಭಮಾಡು
More languagesFewer languages
break the ice in Thai
ละลายพฤติกรรม

Forms of break the ice

third-person singular presentbreaks the ice
present participlebreaking the ice
pastbroke the ice
past participlebroken the ice

Origin of break the ice

By application of the metaphor that strangers are socially separated by ice.

Words formed from break the ice

Questions about break the ice

What does break the ice mean?
Break the ice means to start to get to know people to avoid social awkwardness and formality.
What is break the ice in Hindi?
Break the ice in Hindi is बात-चीत की औपचारिकता हटाना (bāt-cīt kī aupcāriktā haṭānā). See Break the ice meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is break the ice?
Break the ice is a verb.
How do you pronounce break the ice?
Break the ice is pronounced /ˈbɹeɪk ði ˈaɪs/ (UK).
What is the past tense of break the ice?
The past tense of break the ice is broke the ice.

Words near break the ice in the dictionary

  1. break the bank
  2. break the buck
  3. break the cycle
  4. break the deadlock
  5. break the fourth wall
  6. break the ice
  7. break the internet
  8. break the internets
  9. break the interwebs
  10. break the mold
  11. break the mould

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: break the ice (page history and authors); break the ice (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); break the ice (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); break the ice (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-break the ice.ogg.

Cite this entry: “break the ice.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/break_the_ice. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.