give someone a break
The phrase "give someone a break" is commonly used in informal contexts to imply relief, leniency, or opportunity.
🇺🇸 US Voice:
🇬🇧 UK Voice:
Definition
B2General
(informal)To let someone rest or recover from work or stress.
Example
- After working all day, his boss finally gave him a break.
B2General
(informal)To stop being overly critical or demanding towards someone.
Example
- She asked her friend to give her a break because she was already under a lot of pressure.
B2Professional
(informal)To offer someone a chance for significant advancement or improvement.
Example
- The manager decided to give him a break and promoted him to a higher position.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "give someone a break":
gimme a breakgive someone a handbreak withgive someone a hard timelet someone have itbreak ingive someone the businesstake a breathbreak breadgive someone linetough breakcatch one's breathbreak someone's backgive someone enough ropegive someone grief