break the Internet
(computing, idiomatic, figuratively, humorous) To overwhelm a web server through organic user-driven demand, such that the server goes offline or is in danger of doing so.
Etymology timeline
Born ~1990 · 1 year of recorded useDefinitions
(computing, idiomatic, figuratively, humorous) To overwhelm a web server through organic user-driven demand, such that the server goes offline or is in danger of doing so.
: “Click on everything including graphics, buttons, and links, to see where they lead. Don't be afraid to get lost, and don't worry about making mistakes. 'You can't break the Internet,' says Warren Shaver, project manager for ASTD Onlin…
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(computing, idiomatic, figuratively) To deliberately overwhelm a web server through a cyberattack such as a DDOS, such that the server goes offline or is in danger of doing so.
Advocacy groups warned that entertainment companies—who invested heavily in lobbying for the bills—where trying to “break the Internet”;
“can't even get into firing range right now wtf did we break the internet?”
— Bluesky· May 2026
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(chiefly, US, idiomatic, colloquial, literally) To cause a connection to the Internet, or the Internet itself, to malfunction.
1996 Sacha Cohen, John Makulowich, Warren Shaver, Training & Development (cited in 2016 Merriam-Webster.com, "[https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/break-the-internet Words We're Watching: Break the Internet]"):
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