IdiomTopic: money

break the bank

/ˌbreɪk ðə ˈbæŋk/INFORMAL · C1

Meaning

to cost more than you can afford

Examples

1A picnic will not break the bank, and everyone can bring something.
2Replacing every window at once nearly broke the bank.
3At just five pounds a month, this subscription will not break the bank.
4The wedding broke the bank; afterwards, we could barely afford our rent.
5Can we replace the sofa without breaking the bank? Our savings are almost gone.

Grammar

Often used with a negative or a modal verb. The past tense is broke; the past participle is broken.

Similar in meaning

cost an arm and a leg splash out

More idioms about money

All 20 idioms and the topic quiz →

tighten your beltto spend less money than before make ends meetto have just enough money to live on pay through the noseto pay far too much for something save for a rainy dayto keep money for future problems in the redowing money or losing money in the blackhaving more income than expenses

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