Break the ice means to make people who don't know each other feel more relaxed. People say it when a joke, a question or a game helps strangers stop feeling shy and start talking. Note the verb: the ice is broken, not melted. The idiom is conversational: it sounds natural in IELTS Speaking, but in an essay it is better to write help people feel at ease.
When would you say break the ice?
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break the ice + with + joke/question; break the ice + by + -ing; something + breaks the ice
- Our teacher broke the ice on the first day by asking everyone about their favourite food.
- At the conference dinner, my neighbour broke the ice with a joke about the long speeches.
- To break the ice, the host asked each guest to share one surprising fact about themselves.
What changed
First versionHis funny story about the airport melted the ice at the start of the meeting.
RevisionHis funny story about the airport broke the ice at the start of the meeting.
Melt the ice may seem logical, since ice melts when things warm up. But the idiom is fixed, and its only verb is break. Melted was replaced with broke; nothing else was changed.
The noun icebreaker comes from this idiom: a short game, question or joke at the start of a meeting that helps people get to know each other. We started the workshop with a quick icebreaker. An icebreaker is also a ship that cuts through ice.
Your turn
At the start of the workshop, the trainer asked everyone to name their favourite film to ___.
Show the answer
break the ice — The trainer wants the participants to relax and start talking to each other, which is break the ice. Break the news means to tell someone bad news: She broke the news to her parents. Nobody is delivering bad news at this workshop.
Think of a time you were among strangers: your first day at work, a course or a friend's wedding. Write who helped everyone relax and what exactly that person said or did.
On my first day at the new office, my manager broke the ice by showing everyone photos of her very lazy cat.
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