Words / B2

OWTBR-ayk/ˈaʊtbreɪk/

An outbreak is a sudden start of something unwelcome: an outbreak of flu, an outbreak of violence, an outbreak of fire. Epidemic is larger and usually disease; incident is a single event; wave can be a later surge. Break out is the verb (war broke out). In speech, a sudden wave / it started suddenly is enough. Do not use outbreak for a planned festival, and do not confuse it with breakout (an escape).

Meaning

A sudden start of something unwelcome, such as disease, violence, or fire.

Examples

• “An outbreak of norovirus closed the ward for a week.”
• “An outbreak of norovirus closed the ward and the visitors’ café.”
• “The report blamed an outbreak of looting on the blackout, which is the violence sense.”

Good to know

an outbreak of + disease/violence. Verb: break out. Larger disease: epidemic. Mix-up: breakout (escape). Not a planned event.

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