clean break
noun
: complete separation from something
When he left home, he made a clean break with the past.
Examples of clean break in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But from day one, the new prime minister has an opportunity to demonstrate a clean break from his predecessors’ legacies.
—
Raja Khalidi, Foreign Affairs, 19 Mar. 2024
Anitta brought on Rebeca León, known for working with Rosalía, a change that marked a clean break in her career.
—Julyssa Lopez, Rolling Stone, 28 Feb. 2024
Or actually cured, to have a clean break and start over?
—Gerrad Hall, EW.com, 31 May 2023
Khan maintains widespread popularity among Pakistan’s largely young voters, who view him as a clean break from the political dynasties or military establishments that ruled the South Asian nation for much of its independent history.
—Sophia Saifi, CNN, 31 Jan. 2024
If Florida State paves the way for a relatively clean break from the conference, the Hurricanes could follow that path to a bigger conference.
—Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 3 Jan. 2024
Instead, the automaker called a time out and used it to engineer a clean break from the Land Cruiser's increasingly expensive and bloated mall-cruiser trajectory.
—Dan Edmunds, Car and Driver, 1 Aug. 2023
In his first days in office, U.S. President Joe Biden has worked to signal a clean break with his predecessor.
—Daniel H. Nexon, Foreign Affairs, 15 Feb. 2021
For those that remain, and with X actively hiring to rebuild its staff, the demise of the bird and the Twitter brand appears to represent a clean break from the past.
—Kylie Robison, Fortune, 26 July 2023
Raja Khalidi, Foreign Affairs, 19 Mar. 2024
Anitta brought on Rebeca León, known for working with Rosalía, a change that marked a clean break in her career.
—Julyssa Lopez, Rolling Stone, 28 Feb. 2024
Or actually cured, to have a clean break and start over?
—Gerrad Hall, EW.com, 31 May 2023
Khan maintains widespread popularity among Pakistan’s largely young voters, who view him as a clean break from the political dynasties or military establishments that ruled the South Asian nation for much of its independent history.
—Sophia Saifi, CNN, 31 Jan. 2024
If Florida State paves the way for a relatively clean break from the conference, the Hurricanes could follow that path to a bigger conference.
—Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 3 Jan. 2024
Instead, the automaker called a time out and used it to engineer a clean break from the Land Cruiser's increasingly expensive and bloated mall-cruiser trajectory.
—Dan Edmunds, Car and Driver, 1 Aug. 2023
In his first days in office, U.S. President Joe Biden has worked to signal a clean break with his predecessor.
—Daniel H. Nexon, Foreign Affairs, 15 Feb. 2021
For those that remain, and with X actively hiring to rebuild its staff, the demise of the bird and the Twitter brand appears to represent a clean break from the past.
—Kylie Robison, Fortune, 26 July 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'clean break.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near clean break
Cite this Entry
“Clean break.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clean%20break. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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