break off
Britishverb
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to sever or detach or be severed or detached
it broke off in my hands
he broke a piece off the bar of chocolate
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(adverb) to end (a relationship, association, etc) or (of a relationship, etc) to be ended
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(intr, adverb) to stop abruptly; halt
he broke off in the middle of his speech
noun
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Stop abruptly, as in The trade talks broke off yesterday . [First half of 1300s]
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Separate, sever a connection, as in The baby broke off the tops of all the flowers , or The new sect has broken off from the established church . [First half of 1500s]
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End a relationship or friendship, as in Mary broke off her engagement to Rob . [Mid-1600s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In midsentence, she’d suddenly break off to excitedly note a young kestrel flying near the crossing or a honeybee foraging among some early flowers.
From Los Angeles Times
She says she broke off contact with the group before she became a formal member.
From BBC
Boomer Malone once ate a whole pencil without even knowing it till he got to the eraser and broke off a tooth.
From Literature
He broke off contact with the band and directed all communication to go through his counsel.
From Los Angeles Times
The Valley Glen neighborhood broke off from Van Nuys and North Hollywood in 1998, and since then, its home values have outpaced both.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
