break wind meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

break wind

verb

Etymology First attested 1552. From break + wind (“flatulence”). Compare Saterland Frisian wiendje (“to break wind”).

Euphemistic, Idiomatic To expel gases generated during digestion, especially through the anus; to fart.

I broke wind and excused myself afterwards.
I asked him to lower my blind, but he took one look and huffed, “Can’t reach that!” I gave him a frosty “That will be all, then,” instead of a tip. He broke wind as he left, poisonously.2004, David Mitchell, “The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish”, in Cloud Atlas, London: Sceptre (Hodder and Stoughton), →ISBN, page 167:

Synonyms: let off, let one rip, break ass, pass gas, pass wind, cut the cheese, fart, flatulate, toot, guff
Related terms: break wind backwards, break wind upwards, burp