Adjacent Words

break off definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: interrupt before its natural or planned end; "We had to cut short our vacation" [syn: cut short, break short, break off]
2: prevent completion; "stop the project"; "break off the negotiations" [syn: break, break off, discontinue, stop]
3: break off (a piece from a whole); "Her tooth chipped" [syn: chip, chip off, come off, break away, break off]
4: break a piece from a whole; "break a branch from a tree" [syn: break, break off, snap off]
5: break a small piece off from; "chip the glass"; "chip a tooth" [syn: chip, knap, cut off, break off]

Merriam Webster's

verb Date: 14th century 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>

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. If part of something breaks off or if you break it off, it comes off or is removed by force. The two wings of the aircraft broke off on impact... Grace broke off a large piece of the clay... They've torn down wooden fences and broken branches off trees. PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P n (not pron), V n P n, also V n P 2. If you break off when you are doing or saying something, you suddenly stop doing it or saying it. Llewelyn broke off in mid-sentence... The commander of the German task force radioed that he was breaking off the action. PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P n (not pron), also V n P 3. If someone breaks off a relationship, they end it. The two West African states had broken off relations two years ago... He doesn't seem to have the courage to break it off with her. PHRASAL VERB: pl-n V P n (not pron), V it P with n (non-recip)

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

1. Be ruptured. 2. Desist, cease, stop, leave off.

Moby Thesaurus

agree to disagree, be at cross-purposes, break, clash, collide, conflict, contradict, counter, cut off, differ, disaccord, disagree, disarrange, discontinue, disjoin, dissent, intermit, interrupt, jangle, jar, jostle, mismatch, mismate, negate, object, snap the thread, suspend, take a break, vary