break off

verb

broke off; broken off; breaking off; breaks off

intransitive verb

1

: to stop abruptly

break off in the middle of a sentence

2

: to become detached

branches that broke off in the storm

3

: to end a relationship

broke off with his business partner

transitive verb

1

: discontinue

break off diplomatic relations

2

: to remove by or as if by breaking

broke off a chunk of bread

Synonyms of break off

• stop
• cease
• end
• halt
• quit
• cut off
• lay off
• knock off
• shut off
• cut out

Examples of break off in a Sentence

the judge broke off court proceedings until after lunch

talks between the two sides broke off when one began making unreasonable demands

Recent Examples on the Web

Sweeney broke off her engagement to businessman Jonathan Davino in March, after the pair spent some seven years together. —Sarah Jones, PEOPLE, 1 Dec. 2025

Running back Maurice Hall broke off a 66-yard touchdown run, barreling through Miramonte defenders to cut the Matadors’ lead to just one score with six minutes left. —Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 30 Nov. 2025

This is the time of year when wolves start to break off from their packs to look for mates, Anderson said. —Sarah Henry, AZCentral.com, 28 Nov. 2025

The space rock likely represents a chunk that broke off of a much larger asteroid sometime between 2 billion and 700 million years ago. —Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 27 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for break off

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• playoff

Kids Definition

break off

verb

: to stop suddenly