BREAKS OFF Synonyms: 106 Similar and Opposite Words

breaks off

verb

present tense third-person singular of break off

as in stops

to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end the judge broke off court proceedings until after lunch

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in ends

to come to an end talks between the two sides broke off when one began making unreasonable demands

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of breaks off This is the most significant ice calving event (where ice breaks off of a glacier) seen in the Arctic since 2020. — Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 24 Aug. 2026 According to the reports, the malfunctions occurred during the ride's signature ‘tilt' portion, where the segment of track containing the ride vehicle breaks off completely and tilts forward 45 degrees before reconnecting to another piece of track at a 90-degree angle to the ground below. — Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026 If the mouthpiece breaks off, try to remove it without digging into the skin. — Sophie Lindberg, Kansas City Star, 8 June 2026 That Sun team, led by Tina Charles, is beating the breaks off the Sparks. — Kiese Laymon, Vanity Fair, 30 Apr. 2026 Each one of those, in this quantum theory, breaks off into another block of cheese. — Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 30 Mar. 2026 State officials compared the project to Boise’s Flying Wye, where the I-184 Connector breaks off from I-84 west of downtown Boise. — Hali Smith, Idaho Statesman, 11 Mar. 2026 Mahama breaks off in exasperation. — Charlie Campbell, Time, 30 Oct. 2025 The scene where ‘80s teen Marty McFly borrows a scooter from a bewildered ‘50s kid and breaks off the handles to make a skateboard is one of the film’s most iconic moments. — Charlotte Observer, 21 Oct. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for breaks off

Verb

Last week, when Ocasio-Cortez made three campaign stops for Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, neither Democrat — and no audience members — brought up the topic of Gaza.

— David Weigel, semafor.com, 19 Oct. 2026
In January 2025, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch changed the department pursuit policy, barring cops from chasing after vehicles fleeing car stops unless a felony crime or a violent misdemeanor was committed.

— John Annese, New York Daily News, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of stops

Verb

The decision, for now, ends Grab’s first attempt to expand outside Southeast Asia.

— Jay Ganglani, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
The loss of Flyte and Coe (Tom Brooke) earlier in the season leaves the Horses a little worse for wear, but Slow Horses has one parting blow for our semi-competent hero, River (Jack Lowden), before the season ends.

— Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of ends

Verb

If the person holding key intellectual property or leading the company risks losing status, immigration planning ceases to be a personal ordeal.

— Bernardo Saraiva, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026
There is a point beyond which the scale of a threat or a danger ceases to scare us.

— Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2026

Definition of ceases

Verb

The timeline calls for the Royals to move to the new stadium a year before the team’s lease at Kauffman Stadium expires.

— Dylan Lysen, Kansas City Star, 15 Oct. 2026
Trump immediately signed an order for new 10 percent global tariffs for a limited time of 150 days that expires on July 24.

— Vicki M. Young, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of expires

Verb

The officers are seen lifting Belgal from the car before the video cuts off.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 10 Oct. 2026
Reviving a yearslong disagreement, the city of Batavia is again asking Aurora to remove a gate on Wagner Road off Mesa Lane, which currently cuts off one way of entering and exiting a neighborhood on the edge of Aurora’s border with Batavia.

— Molly Morrow, Chicago Tribune, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of cuts off

Verb

Even if October passes without another conflagration, November brings its own hazards.

— Ali Vaez, Time, 21 Oct. 2026
Equatic pumps seawater through an electrolyzer, where an electric current passes through a sandwich of plastic and metal plates and separates the water into two streams, one alkaline and one acidic, while also producing oxygen and hydrogen.

— Alec Luhn, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026