1
as in stopped
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 expired
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
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Recent Examples of broke off
On Saturday, one of those protests turned violent when about 100 hooded protesters broke off from a peaceful march and clashed with police, who responded by firing on them with tear gas and a water cannon.
—
Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2026
The clip holding the ribbon to her medal broke off.
—Rachel Roberts, Idaho Statesman, 8 Feb. 2026
Jonathan Stewart broke off a 59-yard run on the first offensive play of the game and then scored on a short TD run.
—Joseph Person, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2026
Perry broke off her long engagement to actor Orlando Bloom last year.
—Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 20 Jan. 2026
But during that process, part of the fishing gear broke off, along with the tracking buoy.
—Neal Riley, CBS News, 20 Jan. 2026
But in short order, its head broke off its body, chipped and got covered in ash.
—Jason Carroll, CNN Money, 18 Jan. 2026
The main opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party, is reportedly teaming up with Komeito, which used to be part of the LDP coalition but broke off after the far-right Takaichi became LDP leader.
—Chad De Guzman, Time, 15 Jan. 2026
Three bargaining units, representing probation officers, marshals and other Judicial Branch staff, broke off talks with Lamont about compensation in early July.
—Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 13 Jan. 2026
Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2026
The clip holding the ribbon to her medal broke off.
—Rachel Roberts, Idaho Statesman, 8 Feb. 2026
Jonathan Stewart broke off a 59-yard run on the first offensive play of the game and then scored on a short TD run.
—Joseph Person, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2026
Perry broke off her long engagement to actor Orlando Bloom last year.
—Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 20 Jan. 2026
But during that process, part of the fishing gear broke off, along with the tracking buoy.
—Neal Riley, CBS News, 20 Jan. 2026
But in short order, its head broke off its body, chipped and got covered in ash.
—Jason Carroll, CNN Money, 18 Jan. 2026
The main opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party, is reportedly teaming up with Komeito, which used to be part of the LDP coalition but broke off after the far-right Takaichi became LDP leader.
—Chad De Guzman, Time, 15 Jan. 2026
Three bargaining units, representing probation officers, marshals and other Judicial Branch staff, broke off talks with Lamont about compensation in early July.
—Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 13 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for broke off
Verb
-
Now polling suggests the public, and even Republican leaders in Congress, have stopped buying the White House’s claims that federal agents’ paramilitary-style raids only target violent criminals.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
9 Feb. 2026
-
They are focused on the human injustices wrought by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who have stopped cars on roadsides, rounded up job-seekers and even laid in wait outside hearing rooms to detain people complying with required appearances in immigration court.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But officials whistled Mikal Bridges for a loose-ball foul against Christian Braun that review showed came before the clock expired.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Meiner limited the time for each speaker to one minute, rather than the usual two, and a police officer stood near the speakers and told them to wrap up when their minute expired.—
Aaron Leibowitz,
Miami Herald,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Striking out on his own Kaszas was born in Budapest in May 1987, two years to the week before the Iron Curtain crumbled and Hungary’s Communist regime ceased to exist.—
George Varga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Brazil thus ceased to be a peripheral observer of this geopolitical playbook and became its active protagonist, setting the stage for the doctrine’s most devastating domestic application.—
Evandro Cruz Silva,
The Dial,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The only power conference teams with two losses that Texas (9-3) finished above were Vanderbilt, which lost to Texas, and Utah, which did not beat a team that ended the season ranked.—
David Eckert,
Austin American Statesman,
11 Feb. 2026
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The loss ended the Hornets' bid to match a franchise record with 10 straight wins.—
Paula Wethington,
CBS News,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
However, according to the company, shortly after midnight on January 22, an alarm in the control rod monitoring system halted the withdrawal of one control rod.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Charlotte couldn’t get enough defensive stops down the stretch, however, and saw its nine-game win streak — which was the longest since 1999 — halted.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The show originally aired in 2009 and concluded in 2015.—
Marina Johnson,
Louisville Courier Journal,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Lai also used Apple Daily to call for international sanctions against China and Hong Kong, the judges concluded.—
Chris Lau,
CNN Money,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But that third period, the girls never quit.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
14 Feb. 2026
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Del Valle recently attended a choreographers conference in Europe and was surprised to learn that many of them had quit dancing.—
Miles Socha,
Footwear News,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The forthcoming new season skips ahead five years from where season two left off.—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Larionov went with Sergei Bobrovsky, Andrei Vasilevskiy and Igor Shesterkin and left off Ilya Sorokin.—
Dom Luszczyszyn,
New York Times,
7 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Broke off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/broke%20off. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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