break the fourth wall

English edit

Etymology edit

break + the + fourth wall

Pronunciation edit

  • (file)

Verb edit

break the fourth wall (third-person singular simple present breaks the fourth wall, present participle breaking the fourth wall, simple past broke the fourth wall, past participle broken the fourth wall)

  1. (idiomatic, fiction) To apparently communicate with reality directly, such as when characters of literature comment on the existence of a reader.

Translations edit