break·away
ˈbrā-kə-ˌwā 
1
a
: one that breaks away
b
: a departure from or rejection of something (such as a group or tradition)
2
a
: a play (as in hockey) in which an offensive player breaks free of the defenders and rushes toward the goal
b
: a sudden acceleration by one or more bicyclists pulling away from the pack in a race
3
: an object made to shatter or collapse under pressure or impact
1
: favoring independence from an affiliation : seceding
a breakaway faction formed a new party
2
: made to break, shatter, or bend easily
breakaway road signs for highway safety
3
a
: of, relating to, or resulting from a breakaway
a breakaway goal
b
: allowing or having an ability to execute a breakaway
breakaway speed
broke away; broken away; breaking away; breaks away
1
: to detach oneself especially from a group : get away
2
: to depart from former or accustomed ways
3
: to pull away with a burst of speed
Examples of breakaway in a Sentence
Adjective
A breakaway faction formed a new party.
Recent Examples on the Web
Miami Herald, 11 Dec. 2025
In footage from the play, Anunoby is seen on a breakaway when Bane and Magic guard Jalen Suggs converged on him and knocked the ball out of his hands.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 9 Dec. 2025
Yevgeny Kuklychev
ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 May 2025
In 2008, Russia and Georgia went to war over the breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia.
—Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2024
Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Dec. 2025
An avulsion fracture occurs when a piece of bone attached to a ligament or tendon breaks away from the main part of the bone.
—Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 14 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for breakaway
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Noun
Just 13 seconds later, though, Guenther got one back on another breakaway.
—Miami Herald, 11 Dec. 2025
In footage from the play, Anunoby is seen on a breakaway when Bane and Magic guard Jalen Suggs converged on him and knocked the ball out of his hands.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 9 Dec. 2025
Adjective
Moscow has moved many of its vessels toward its Novorossiysk base, and satellite imagery indicates Russia is establishing another Black Sea base in the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia.
—Yevgeny Kuklychev
ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 May 2025
In 2008, Russia and Georgia went to war over the breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia.
—Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2024
Verb
Penn quickly put his team back on top on the first play of the drive, breaking away for a 59 yard TD.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Dec. 2025
An avulsion fracture occurs when a piece of bone attached to a ligament or tendon breaks away from the main part of the bone.
—Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 14 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for breakaway
Cite this Entry
“Breakaway.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/breakaway. Accessed 17 Dec. 2025.
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