Word.ws English Dictionary

breaks the ice

breaks the ice is the third-person singular simple present indicative of break the ice.

Meaning of break the ice

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.

Questions about breaks the ice

What is breaks the ice the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Breaks the ice is the third-person singular simple present indicative of break the ice.

Words near breaks the ice in the dictionary

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

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: breaks the ice (page history and authors); break the ice (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:

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