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
Regina Elling, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Aug. 2025
Son Heung-min missed a good chance a few minutes later and had a shot blocked after a breakaway attack later in the first half.
—Steve Price, Forbes.com, 3 Aug. 2025
Yevgeny Kuklychev
ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 May 2025
Furthermore, Moscow’s various calls for respect of the UN Charter would have been taken more seriously had Russia itself not unilaterally recognized the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in 2008, or annexed Crimea and instigated a war in Ukraine’s Donbas region in 2014.
—Alexander Gabuev, Foreign Affairs, 13 Mar. 2023
Richard Brody, New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2025
The officer broke away from Johnson, backed up and drew his gun.
—Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for breakaway
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Noun
Traditional rodeo events include bareback, saddle bronc and bull riding, barrel racing, breakaway, tie-down and team roping and steer wrestling.
—Regina Elling, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Aug. 2025
Son Heung-min missed a good chance a few minutes later and had a shot blocked after a breakaway attack later in the first half.
—Steve Price, Forbes.com, 3 Aug. 2025
Adjective
Moscow has moved many of its vessels toward its Novorossiysk base, and satellite imagery indicates Russia is establishing another Black Sea base in the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia.
—Yevgeny Kuklychev
ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 May 2025
Furthermore, Moscow’s various calls for respect of the UN Charter would have been taken more seriously had Russia itself not unilaterally recognized the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in 2008, or annexed Crimea and instigated a war in Ukraine’s Donbas region in 2014.
—Alexander Gabuev, Foreign Affairs, 13 Mar. 2023
Verb
Often, directors’ self-transformations involve changes in modes of production: Scorsese broke away from the studios and found independent financing; Coppola self-financed.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2025
The officer broke away from Johnson, backed up and drew his gun.
—Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for breakaway
Cite this Entry
“Breakaway.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/breakaway. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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