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
This is why whoever replaces Mitch in the Senate needs to represent a clean break from him—time for a change!
—
Raja Krishnamoorthi, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Apr. 2025
However, there’s one thing still holding Janelle back from a clean break from Kody.
—Rachel McRady, People.com, 21 Apr. 2025
Football fans love the idea of the clean break, the fresh start, and the new era that is unlike anything that has come before.
—Jack Pitt-Brooke, The Athletic, 22 Mar. 2025
Of course, that clean break only comes after a big check is cut for this season.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 25 Mar. 2025
The new leaders want a clean break not only with the Assad regime but also with the international community’s approach to Syria over the past decade.
—Volker Perthes, Foreign Affairs, 24 Jan. 2025
The vast majority of Syrians—including the country’s businesspeople and religious authorities, as well as those in its overstaffed but experienced bureaucracy—appear to support a clean break with the corruption and mismanagement of the Assad regime.
—Volker Perthes, Foreign Affairs, 24 Jan. 2025
Since its founding as a republic, Turkey had been charting a future based on a clean break with its Ottoman past, a time when Constantinople ruled Syria, but Erdogan openly embraced that past as a means to establish Turkey as a major power.
—Alia Malek, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2025
The decision to elevate Mr. Driscoll and Mr. Kissane to the seventh floor of bureau headquarters where senior leadership sits signals that the Trump administration wanted a clean break after lengthy F.B.I. investigations that ensnared the president.
—Adam Goldman, New York Times, 20 Jan. 2025
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Raja Krishnamoorthi, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Apr. 2025
However, there’s one thing still holding Janelle back from a clean break from Kody.
—Rachel McRady, People.com, 21 Apr. 2025
Football fans love the idea of the clean break, the fresh start, and the new era that is unlike anything that has come before.
—Jack Pitt-Brooke, The Athletic, 22 Mar. 2025
Of course, that clean break only comes after a big check is cut for this season.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 25 Mar. 2025
The new leaders want a clean break not only with the Assad regime but also with the international community’s approach to Syria over the past decade.
—Volker Perthes, Foreign Affairs, 24 Jan. 2025
The vast majority of Syrians—including the country’s businesspeople and religious authorities, as well as those in its overstaffed but experienced bureaucracy—appear to support a clean break with the corruption and mismanagement of the Assad regime.
—Volker Perthes, Foreign Affairs, 24 Jan. 2025
Since its founding as a republic, Turkey had been charting a future based on a clean break with its Ottoman past, a time when Constantinople ruled Syria, but Erdogan openly embraced that past as a means to establish Turkey as a major power.
—Alia Malek, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2025
The decision to elevate Mr. Driscoll and Mr. Kissane to the seventh floor of bureau headquarters where senior leadership sits signals that the Trump administration wanted a clean break after lengthy F.B.I. investigations that ensnared the president.
—Adam Goldman, New York Times, 20 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Clean break.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clean%20break. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
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