WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
break open v 1: open with force; "He broke open the picnic basket" 2: come open suddenly and violently, as if from internal pressure; "The bubble burst" [syn: burst, split, break open] 3: erupt or intensify suddenly; "Unrest erupted in the country"; "Tempers flared at the meeting"; "The crowd irrupted into a burst of patriotism" [syn: erupt, irrupt, flare up, flare, break open, burst out]