Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

break the fourth wall

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.51 in modern English

Syllables
break the -fourth wall
IPA
36
Scrabble Score
18
Letters
2
Syllables
12
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

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

Etymology

break + the + fourth wall

Inflected Forms

breaks the fourth wall (present, singular) breaking the fourth wall (participle, present) broke the fourth wall (past) broken the fourth wall (participle, past)

Questions

What does break the fourth wall mean?
To apparently communicate with reality directly, such as when characters of literature comment on the existence of a reader.
Where does break the fourth wall come from?
break + the + fourth wall

How to pronounce break the fourth wall

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “break the fourth wall”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “break the fourth wall”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “break the fourth wall” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.