释义：

Breaking down a social stiffness to make things more comfortable.

打破社交时的沉默，让周围环境更加舒服一些。汉语里我们可以说：打破沉默；打破僵局；

This phrase is sometimes used when the cold social awkwardness is broken between two people who are meeting for the first time.

这个俚语经常用于两个人第一次见面时，出现尴尬的情景；

Some may say that this phrase comes from steam-powered icebreaker ships that were designed in the 1800s for sailing in polar regions of the world. 这个词组可能是来源于18世纪时所设计的蒸汽破冰船。As the name suggests, these ships were designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, which can be quite challenging. 这些船的出现是为了让人们能够在被冰覆盖的区域自由航行。使得本来有冰的区域走起来更加的自如和舒适；

所以break the ice指的就是打破僵局或者打破沉默；

举例：

1.王小二和喜欢的女生第一次约会，非常紧张，不知所措。于是灵机一动，讲了一个笑话，于是僵局被打破了。这个时候我们就可以说：

He tells a joke to the girl to break the ice.

他给女孩子讲了一个笑话以来打破僵局。

2.Peter是一个很外向健谈的人，每次的聚会，他总是那个负责活跃气氛的人，这个时候我们就可以说：

Peter is so outgoing. He's always the first one to break the ice at parties.

Peter简直就是个人精，很善于交际，他在聚会上上总是第一个打破冷场的人。