1
as in to stop
to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end
the judge broke off court proceedings until after lunch
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to end
to come to an end
talks between the two sides broke off when one began making unreasonable demands
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of break off
Indianapolis running back Jonathan Taylor ran for 165 yards on 25 carries and broke off several massive gains.
—
Luca Evans, Denver Post, 15 Sep. 2025
Running backs Sire Gaines and Malik Sherrod each scored in the first quarter and broke off impressive runs, and combined for 140 yards on the ground.
—Jim Keyser, Idaho Statesman, 6 Sep. 2025
Sweeney broke off her engagement to 42-year-old hunky businessman Jonathan Davino a few months ago.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2025
Studies have shown that both erythritol and xylitol may cause blood platelets to more easily clump — creating clots that can break off and travel to the heart, triggering a heart attack, or to the brain, damaging blood vessels or triggering a stroke.
—Sandee Lamotte, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for break off
Luca Evans, Denver Post, 15 Sep. 2025
Running backs Sire Gaines and Malik Sherrod each scored in the first quarter and broke off impressive runs, and combined for 140 yards on the ground.
—Jim Keyser, Idaho Statesman, 6 Sep. 2025
Sweeney broke off her engagement to 42-year-old hunky businessman Jonathan Davino a few months ago.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2025
Studies have shown that both erythritol and xylitol may cause blood platelets to more easily clump — creating clots that can break off and travel to the heart, triggering a heart attack, or to the brain, damaging blood vessels or triggering a stroke.
—Sandee Lamotte, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for break off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for break off
Verb
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Nothing better than putting down the top and driving beautiful roads just after the rain stops and the air is powerfully charged by the nearby ocean, scrubbed clean.—
Mark Ewing,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
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In fact, water levels at Lake Powell, one of the main water storage reservoirs for the Colorado River Basin, could fall low enough to stop hydropower generation at the reservoir by December 2026, according to the NOAA report.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The deal, amended by Thailand's cabinet last month, ends a long period of uncertainty since work on the project began as far back as 2017.—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Sep. 2025
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At the May meeting, the council voted 4-0 to end treatment.—
Anna Clark,
ProPublica,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Without any of the three, money once again ceases to circulate.—
John Tamny,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
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After that, production would temporarily cease with operations idling until October 2025 in order to complete retooling work to prepare the facility for production of the 2026 model year.—
Jackie Charniga,
Freep.com,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Washington and Beijing then reached a deal to reduce levies, which expires in November, with the United States imposing 30 percent duties on imports of Chinese goods and China hitting US products with a 10 percent tariff.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
19 Sep. 2025
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Federal pandemic funding is expiring, leaving many districts with budget cuts approaching 8%.—
Jaime Catmull,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Lifestyles changes such as eating better, being more physically active and abstaining from alcohol may halt or even reverse the progression of MASH.—
Bruce Y. Lee,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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While the outlet did not specify which investments may have been halted, an anonymous Korean semiconductor executive told Korea JoongAng Daily that such actions had raised concerns about Samsung Electronics' advanced chip plant under construction in Taylor, Texas.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Amazon Prime Video’s six-part thriller concluded with an ending that cannonballed into new territory and paddled swiftly away from the ending of Michelle Frances’ 2017 novel of the same name.—
Erin Jensen,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
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Trump was right again in concluding that the Federal Reserve has been too late in responding to the deterioration of the job market.—
Tiana Lowe Doescher,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Mary Ceron is another homeowner who attempted to quit but ended up at a final hearing against her will.—
Mario Ariza,
ProPublica,
15 Sep. 2025
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That prompted a frustrated Webex engineer, Eric Yuan, to quit and start Zoom, which is why WebEx looks like a crude prototype of what Zoom became.—
Dev Patnaik,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Start by cutting off the sleeves of thrifted or no longer worn sweaters.—
Claire Hoppe Norgaard,
Better Homes & Gardens,
16 Sep. 2025
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Jere is forced to get a job at a restaurant now that he's cut off financially.—
Monica Mercuri,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Break off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/break%20off. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
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