Meaning of ‘Break The Ice’
The idiom ‘break the ice’ means to do or say something to make people feel more comfortable when meeting for the first time. Basically, it’s an attempt to break down the social stiffness that exists between people who first meet.
Example: My brother Carl has friends coming over soon and I’m nervous because I’ve never met them before. However, I have some ideas on how to break the ice once they arrive.
Similar Phrases: get the ball rolling, kick things off, lighten the mood, loosen up, warm up to someone
Related Idioms:
Want to discover more famous expressions like this one? Check out our Idioms and Phrases Starting With B page for a list of them.
Certain ships have the capability of breaking through ice to get to their destination. Is this where the phrase comes from?
Origin of ‘Break The Ice’
Some people may think that the phrase break the ice comes from steam-powered icebreaker ships that were designed in the 1800s. While traveling through ice-covered waters can be challenging, these ships were built to make navigation through the arctic regions of the world a bit easier.
As the name suggests, these ships are capable of traveling through ice-covered waters (see the picture above). Using the ship’s strengthened hull and powerful engine, these large vessels break the ice apart into smaller pieces, allowing the ship to pass right on through. In some sense, it’s like a knife slicing through cold butter.
So then, does the expression ‘break the ice’ come from these types of ships? No, this is not the source of its origin because this phrase actually goes back to the 17th century, which means it precedes the creation of the icebreaker ships. For example, this expression makes an early appearance in a poem by Samuel Butler, 1678. One of the lines from the poem reads as follows:
“To give himself a first audience, After he had a while look’d wise, At last broken silence, and the ice.”
So that means this phrase is at least 340 years old.
Example Sentences of ‘Break The Ice’
This phrase is often used when two people are meeting for the first time and they feel a cold social awkwardness from the lack of familiarity. However, once they start talking, the tension fades and they ‘break the ice’ between them. Let’s look at a few usage cases for how to use this expression.
Examples:
1. To break the ice with the audience, he planned to start his speech with a light-hearted joke.
2. Mike was nervous about meeting his new coworkers, but it didn’t take long before he broke the ice by introducing himself.
Examples That Use Similar Phrases:
1. She told a funny story to lighten the mood after a stressful meeting, helping everyone to calm down.
2. There was an awkward tension in the air between me and the person I had just met, so I kicked things off by asking if he had any hobbies.
3. She used to dislike being around Sarah, but once they started talking about movies, she warmed up to her.