break·away
ˈbrā-kə-ˌwā 
1
a
: one that breaks away
b
: a departure from or rejection of something (such as a group or tradition)
2
a
: a play (as in hockey) in which an offensive player breaks free of the defenders and rushes toward the goal
b
: a sudden acceleration by one or more bicyclists pulling away from the pack in a race
3
: an object made to shatter or collapse under pressure or impact
1
: favoring independence from an affiliation : seceding
a breakaway faction formed a new party
2
: made to break, shatter, or bend easily
breakaway road signs for highway safety
3
a
: of, relating to, or resulting from a breakaway
a breakaway goal
b
: allowing or having an ability to execute a breakaway
breakaway speed
broke away; broken away; breaking away; breaks away
1
: to detach oneself especially from a group : get away
2
: to depart from former or accustomed ways
3
: to pull away with a burst of speed
Examples of breakaway in a Sentence
Adjective
A breakaway faction formed a new party.
Recent Examples on the Web
Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2024
Conquering these provinces would create a land bridge to the Crimean Peninsula and to the pro-Russian Moldovan breakaway enclave of Transnistria.
—Branislav L. Slantchev, Foreign Affairs, 1 Apr. 2024
The Big Red drew a power play nearly five minutes later, but the DU penalty kill shut them down and even produced a one-on-one breakaway that Shane denied with his pads.
—Matt Schubert, The Denver Post, 30 Mar. 2024
Islamic State in Khorasan was founded in 2015 by breakaway members of the Pakistani Taliban.
—Ken Dilanian, NBC News, 25 Mar. 2024
Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self acknowledged on Friday that his Jayhawks caught a break when a foul was called on a breakaway dunk attempt by Nick Timberlake with 14 seconds left in a 93-89 first-round NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional victory over Samford on Thursday night at Delta Center.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 23 Mar. 2024
By the time Ellis pulled down a rebound and raced for a breakaway dunk with 38 seconds left, the Trojans were up 74-67 and their fate was secure.
—Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2024
But Russia, which was once closely allied with Armenia, has become increasingly friendly with Azerbaijan, essentially standing by as Azerbaijan took over full control of the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which had been under the control of Armenian separatists for more than three decades.
—Ivan Nechepurenko Sergey Ponomarev, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024
Gaudreau had two assists, but came up empty on three breakaways in a span of five minutes during the first period.
—Eric He, USA TODAY, 18 Feb. 2024
Daryna Mayer, NBC News, 6 Oct. 2023
The Alcaraz hype train has been so breakaway NBA stars Luka Doncic and Jimmy Butler showed up to watch the Spanish star from the teal seats.
—Marc Berman, ajc, 1 Apr. 2023
Russia is viewed as an enemy by many Georgians, after Moscow backed separatists in the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in the 1990s.
—Reuters, NBC News, 8 Mar. 2023
Jerome Kersey followed with a breakaway dunk with 1:17 left and the game was tied at 97-97.
—oregonlive, 28 Apr. 2020
His breakaway power dunks were a highlight of a season that was short on those.
—Scott Ostler, SFChronicle.com, 19 Mar. 2020
Johnson opened the second frame with a steal and a breakaway dunk, electrifying a drowsy crowd that had witnessed only six combined points through the first eight minutes.
—Shelby Dermer, Cincinnati.com, 8 Mar. 2020
Not giving the Chargers a breather, Fern Creek star point guard Jaden Rogers got a steal and a chance for a breakaway dunk.
—David J. Kim, The Courier-Journal, 29 Feb. 2020
Watchmen’s fantastic seventh episode indulges a breakaway gimmick with its own Garden of Eden imagery.
—Darren Franich, EW.com, 11 May 2020
Joe Rubin, Sacramento Bee, 2 Apr. 2024
On one end of Mr. Mohamed’s block, a new Shake Shack sits across the street from Masjid at-Taqwa, a mosque that broke away from the Nation of Islam in 1981.
—Liam Stack Stephanie Keith, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2024
The threat of the SEC and Big Ten breaking away and forming their own two-conference playoff looms in the background of the negotiations.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2024
Eight barges broke away, three of which crashed into a gambling vessel that was moored there.
—Aaron Gregg, Washington Post, 26 Mar. 2024
Instead, Moreno struggled for weeks to break away from the pack and whittle down a plurality of undecided voters that dominated most polls.
—Haley Bemiller, USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2024
While many thought Trump’s nod would put the race away, Moreno struggled for weeks to break away from the pack.
—Haley Bemiller, The Enquirer, 19 Mar. 2024
The film’s director, SJ Clarkson, recently revealed why her film decided to break away from the long-standing Marvel tradition.
—Monica Mercuri, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024
That’s when the Super Heavy rocket booster — the bottommost portion of the rocket that gives the initial burst of power at liftoff — breaks away from the upper Starship spacecraft, allowing the vehicle to ignite its engines and continue the mission on its own power.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN, 13 Mar. 2024
Noun
Caufield scored his 21st goal of the season on a wraparound 33 seconds into the third period to extend the lead to 4-2, and Evans widened the lead further with a short-handed breakaway at 4:34.
—Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2024
Conquering these provinces would create a land bridge to the Crimean Peninsula and to the pro-Russian Moldovan breakaway enclave of Transnistria.
—Branislav L. Slantchev, Foreign Affairs, 1 Apr. 2024
The Big Red drew a power play nearly five minutes later, but the DU penalty kill shut them down and even produced a one-on-one breakaway that Shane denied with his pads.
—Matt Schubert, The Denver Post, 30 Mar. 2024
Islamic State in Khorasan was founded in 2015 by breakaway members of the Pakistani Taliban.
—Ken Dilanian, NBC News, 25 Mar. 2024
Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self acknowledged on Friday that his Jayhawks caught a break when a foul was called on a breakaway dunk attempt by Nick Timberlake with 14 seconds left in a 93-89 first-round NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional victory over Samford on Thursday night at Delta Center.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 23 Mar. 2024
By the time Ellis pulled down a rebound and raced for a breakaway dunk with 38 seconds left, the Trojans were up 74-67 and their fate was secure.
—Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2024
But Russia, which was once closely allied with Armenia, has become increasingly friendly with Azerbaijan, essentially standing by as Azerbaijan took over full control of the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which had been under the control of Armenian separatists for more than three decades.
—Ivan Nechepurenko Sergey Ponomarev, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024
Gaudreau had two assists, but came up empty on three breakaways in a span of five minutes during the first period.
—Eric He, USA TODAY, 18 Feb. 2024
Adjective
Meanwhile, Russia has signed a deal to house a permanent naval base in the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia, also on the Black Sea, its leader told local media Thursday.
—Daryna Mayer, NBC News, 6 Oct. 2023
The Alcaraz hype train has been so breakaway NBA stars Luka Doncic and Jimmy Butler showed up to watch the Spanish star from the teal seats.
—Marc Berman, ajc, 1 Apr. 2023
Russia is viewed as an enemy by many Georgians, after Moscow backed separatists in the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in the 1990s.
—Reuters, NBC News, 8 Mar. 2023
Jerome Kersey followed with a breakaway dunk with 1:17 left and the game was tied at 97-97.
—oregonlive, 28 Apr. 2020
His breakaway power dunks were a highlight of a season that was short on those.
—Scott Ostler, SFChronicle.com, 19 Mar. 2020
Johnson opened the second frame with a steal and a breakaway dunk, electrifying a drowsy crowd that had witnessed only six combined points through the first eight minutes.
—Shelby Dermer, Cincinnati.com, 8 Mar. 2020
Not giving the Chargers a breather, Fern Creek star point guard Jaden Rogers got a steal and a chance for a breakaway dunk.
—David J. Kim, The Courier-Journal, 29 Feb. 2020
Watchmen’s fantastic seventh episode indulges a breakaway gimmick with its own Garden of Eden imagery.
—Darren Franich, EW.com, 11 May 2020
Verb
The voting is part of a non-binding election being held by Sikhs around the world who aspire to break away from India, and form in what is today the Indian state of Punjab, an independent nation called Khalistan.
—Joe Rubin, Sacramento Bee, 2 Apr. 2024
On one end of Mr. Mohamed’s block, a new Shake Shack sits across the street from Masjid at-Taqwa, a mosque that broke away from the Nation of Islam in 1981.
—Liam Stack Stephanie Keith, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2024
The threat of the SEC and Big Ten breaking away and forming their own two-conference playoff looms in the background of the negotiations.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2024
Eight barges broke away, three of which crashed into a gambling vessel that was moored there.
—Aaron Gregg, Washington Post, 26 Mar. 2024
Instead, Moreno struggled for weeks to break away from the pack and whittle down a plurality of undecided voters that dominated most polls.
—Haley Bemiller, USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2024
While many thought Trump’s nod would put the race away, Moreno struggled for weeks to break away from the pack.
—Haley Bemiller, The Enquirer, 19 Mar. 2024
The film’s director, SJ Clarkson, recently revealed why her film decided to break away from the long-standing Marvel tradition.
—Monica Mercuri, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024
That’s when the Super Heavy rocket booster — the bottommost portion of the rocket that gives the initial burst of power at liftoff — breaks away from the upper Starship spacecraft, allowing the vehicle to ignite its engines and continue the mission on its own power.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN, 13 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'breakaway.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Breakaway.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/breakaway. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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More from Merriam-Webster on breakaway
Nglish: Translation of breakaway for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of breakaway for Arabic Speakers
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