1
as in to stop
to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end
the judge broke off court proceedings until after lunch
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to end
to come to an end
talks between the two sides broke off when one began making unreasonable demands
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of break off
Johnson then carried the ball on the last four plays, breaking off carries of eight, nine and 10 yards.
—
Patrick Z. McGavin, Chicago Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025
Baby rattlesnakes don’t have rattles, and adult snakes’ rattles occasionally break off, according to the National Park Service.
—Sacbee.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Their recent outings come nearly a year after Kravitz and ex-fiancé Channing Tatum broke off their engagement in October 2024.
—Charna Flam, People.com, 27 Aug. 2025
In 2024, the actress broke off her engagement to Channing Tatum.
—Hannah Madlener, Glamour, 25 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for break off
Patrick Z. McGavin, Chicago Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025
Baby rattlesnakes don’t have rattles, and adult snakes’ rattles occasionally break off, according to the National Park Service.
—Sacbee.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Their recent outings come nearly a year after Kravitz and ex-fiancé Channing Tatum broke off their engagement in October 2024.
—Charna Flam, People.com, 27 Aug. 2025
In 2024, the actress broke off her engagement to Channing Tatum.
—Hannah Madlener, Glamour, 25 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for break off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for break off
Verb
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Nothing better than putting down the top and driving beautiful roads just after the rain stops and the air is powerfully charged by the nearby ocean, scrubbed clean.—
Mark Ewing,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
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In fact, water levels at Lake Powell, one of the main water storage reservoirs for the Colorado River Basin, could fall low enough to stop hydropower generation at the reservoir by December 2026, according to the NOAA report.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Election laws are set at the state level, meaning that any order from the president seeking to end the voting option would likely be met with legal challenges.—
Hailey Bullis,
The Washington Examiner,
11 Sep. 2025
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Daylight saving time ends (slightly) earlier in 2025.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Without any of the three, money once again ceases to circulate.—
John Tamny,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
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After that, production would temporarily cease with operations idling until October 2025 in order to complete retooling work to prepare the facility for production of the 2026 model year.—
Jackie Charniga,
Freep.com,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The expiring boost, implemented in Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act under former President Joe Biden, applies to 22 million of the 24 million low- and middle-income Americans with plans through the ACA marketplace.—
Ramsey Touchberry,
The Washington Examiner,
11 Sep. 2025
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Republicans have proposed several short-term funding options running from November to January, but Democrats want Republicans to negotiate with them, especially on extending expiring health care subsidies.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Lifestyles changes such as eating better, being more physically active and abstaining from alcohol may halt or even reverse the progression of MASH.—
Bruce Y. Lee,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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While the outlet did not specify which investments may have been halted, an anonymous Korean semiconductor executive told Korea JoongAng Daily that such actions had raised concerns about Samsung Electronics' advanced chip plant under construction in Taylor, Texas.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Amazon Prime Video’s six-part thriller concluded with an ending that cannonballed into new territory and paddled swiftly away from the ending of Michelle Frances’ 2017 novel of the same name.—
Erin Jensen,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
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Trump was right again in concluding that the Federal Reserve has been too late in responding to the deterioration of the job market.—
Tiana Lowe Doescher,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Mary Ceron is another homeowner who attempted to quit but ended up at a final hearing against her will.—
Mario Ariza,
ProPublica,
15 Sep. 2025
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That prompted a frustrated Webex engineer, Eric Yuan, to quit and start Zoom, which is why WebEx looks like a crude prototype of what Zoom became.—
Dev Patnaik,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Start by cutting off the sleeves of thrifted or no longer worn sweaters.—
Claire Hoppe Norgaard,
Better Homes & Gardens,
16 Sep. 2025
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Jere is forced to get a job at a restaurant now that he's cut off financially.—
Monica Mercuri,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Break off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/break%20off. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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