break off

verb

broke off; broken off; breaking off; breaks off

intransitive verb

1

: to stop abruptly

break off in the middle of a sentence

2

: to become detached

branches that broke off in the storm

3

: to end a relationship

broke off with his business partner

transitive verb

1

: discontinue

break off diplomatic relations

2

: to remove by or as if by breaking

broke off a chunk of bread

Synonyms

• break
• break up
• can [slang]
• cease
• cut off
• cut out
• desist (from)
• discontinue
• drop
• end
• give over
• halt
• knock off
• lay off
• leave off
• pack (up or in)
• quit
• shut off
• stop

Examples of break off in a Sentence

the judge broke off court proceedings until after lunch

talks between the two sides broke off when one began making unreasonable demands

Recent Examples on the Web

Most of the microplastic is shed in the first two minutes of chewing, the release says, because the grinding of teeth causes the plastic to break off. —Cara Lynn Shultz, People.com, 26 Mar. 2025

Avoid jerking the valve or forcing it to turn, as this could cause the valve to break off. —Timothy Dale, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Mar. 2025

Listen to this article Prosecutors on Saturday night backed up what family members of tragic victim Pamela Alcantara have been saying — that her boyfriend allegedly killed her in retaliation for planning to break off their relationship. —Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 9 Mar. 2025

Arkansas’ Yaseen Abdalla, Patrick Kiprop and Reuben Reina broke off over the final laps. —Cory Mull, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Rhymes for break off

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• playoff

Kids Definition

break off

verb

: to stop suddenly