🗓️ Idiom: Breaking Down Barriers (v)
💬 Meaning
- To remove obstacles that stop people from understanding or working with each other.
- To help people connect by reducing differences in language, culture, or ideas.
🧠 Example Sentences
- The new training program is breaking down barriers between departments.
- Learning local customs helps break down barriers in international business.
- Good communication can break down barriers caused by cultural misunderstandings.
🏛️ Origin
The idiom comes from the image of a physical barrier, like a wall, being knocked down. In the past, “barrier” was used to describe something that blocks movement or progress. Over time, the phrase “breaking down barriers” began to describe removing problems that stop people from understanding or working together — especially in business, education, and cross-cultural settings.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
The company hired cultural advisors to help __________ and improve teamwork.
Answer
break down barriers
2. Choose the correct meaning of “break down barriers”:
A) To build a new system
B) To remove things that block understanding
C) To block communication
Answer
B) To remove things that block understanding
3. Rewrite the sentence using the idiom:
“They removed communication problems between the local and international teams.” → Change the sentence using: break down barriers
Answer
They broke down barriers between the local and international teams.
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