break the/a record
To do something to a higher or greater degree than the greatest extent currently known. With his speed, I think he'll break a record for running before he graduates from high school. If he eats one more hot dog he's going to break the record! In the summer of 1998, I was just a baseball-obsessed kid watching Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa try to break the single-season home run record.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
break the record
1. Surpass a previous achievement, as in He was determined to break the record for the high jump. This usage is applied primarily to sports of various kinds. [1880s]
2. Move very fast, as in The lecture was so dull that we broke the record getting to the door: [Second half of 1900s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.