broke off

Definition of broke offnext
past tense of break off
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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 broke off While other hummingbirds seemed primarily focused on the nectar, some occasionally broke off and darted into the insect cloud. Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2026 Last month, talks broke off and the NFL began making plans to hire and train replacement officials as early as mid-May. Mike Jones, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2026 The stabbing was so forceful that the tip of the knife broke off inside the officer’s head, Chamberlain said, but the officer was able to fire his gun and shoot the man during the attack. Katie Langford, Denver Post, 9 Apr. 2026 The victim fought off Mohammed after being stabbed, holding onto the blade of a kitchen knife using a towel until the blade broke off the handle. Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 7 Apr. 2026 The studios negotiated for more than a month with the performers’ union in February and March, but broke off in order to turn their attention to the writers. Gene Maddaus, Variety, 4 Apr. 2026 Sixty yards beyond, the ridge broke off sharply in three directions. Charles Elliott, Outdoor Life, 2 Apr. 2026 After remarks from a handful of speakers, most of the crowd broke off into a march through the streets. Killian Baarlaer, Louisville Courier Journal, 28 Mar. 2026 His future wife broke off their engagement in 1960. Eric Olson, Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for broke off
Verb
  • To encompass the story, about a miracle from 847, when Pope Leo IV stopped a fire with a blessing, Raphael brings you into the fresco through the unshod feet of a woman in agony and leaves you near the very back, with a tiny and serene Leo IV.
    Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
  • If the game stopped at this point, Fermat’s method for dividing the pot would list all possible outcomes of those five coin flips and then tally the ones that amassed 10 points for each player.
    Jack Murtagh, Scientific American, 19 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Any Section 702 targets under surveillance at the time Section 702 expired could still be collected against for a year.
    Patrick Eddington, Oc Register, 15 Apr. 2026
  • In 1890, Strauss and Davis’ patent on the use of rivets to reinforce clothing had expired, and all denim brands were allowed to produce their own versions.
    Jack Armstrong, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • The club ceased operations this year on New Year’s Day after 17 years in business.
    Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 15 Apr. 2026
  • Since the automaker ceased production of its popular Dawn model in 2023, its lineup has been missing a convertible.
    Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 14 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • For loved ones, the ceremony is not only about mourning, but about reclaiming Tianah's story from the violence that ended it.
    Zachary Bynum, CBS News, 16 Apr. 2026
  • Months before that, in a separate interview, the star revealed Netflix had not called her back to film after her maternity leave ended.
    Natalia Senanayake, PEOPLE, 16 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • The Kings had their five-game winning streak halted.
    CBS News, CBS News, 15 Apr. 2026
  • But Rene faced this uphill climb with the same indomitable spirit that defined her, filling her days with smiles, prayers, good deeds and with adventures, especially after tests offered up hope that the disease had been halted.
    Denise Crosby, Chicago Tribune, 14 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • The Thirty Years’ War, which was concluded by the Peace of Westphalia, in 1648, spread across mainland Europe and killed some eight million people.
    Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026
  • At the time, the Justice Department concluded that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence lacked jurisdiction over allegations involving a president’s private conversations with a fellow head of state.
    Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 13 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Nevertheless, Kayla refused to quit.
    Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 11 Apr. 2026
  • The town has been operating without a local government since January, when its entire Board of Trustees quit following years of bitter infighting and a violent scuffle that sent one of the trustees to the hospital, The Denver Post reported last month.
    Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 10 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • After the shuttle program, NASA kept the space plane idea going, but never again at so grand a scale—and, in 2004, a private company called SpaceDev picked up the HL-20 where the space agency left off.
    Tom Metcalfe, Scientific American, 13 Apr. 2026
  • The problem is they’re frequently left off the lab slip unless someone asks.
    Allison Palmer, Miami Herald, 10 Apr. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Broke off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/broke%20off. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.

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