make a break for it

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make a break for it (third-person singular simple present makes a break for it, present participle making a break for it, simple past and past participle made a break for it)

1. (idiomatic) To attempt to escape; to flee; to run away.
   • 1915, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, chapter 3, in The Valley of Fear:

     "By Gar! it was as well that he made a break for it before the note reached us! I guess he won't show his face in this valley again."

   • 2006 July 12, “Behavior: The New Runaways: Old Folks”, in Time:

     To restrain runaways who are too fragile to survive on the outside, Administrator Edward Farmilant of Chicago's Somerset nursing home gave the front door guard pictures of 36 patients who might make a break for it.

• (to attempt to escape): make a run for it