break away definitions

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: move away or escape suddenly; "The horses broke from the stable"; "Three inmates broke jail"; "Nobody can break out --this prison is high security" [syn: break, break out, break away]
2: break off (a piece from a whole); "Her tooth chipped" [syn: chip, chip off, come off, break away, break off]
3: interrupt a continued activity; "She had broken with the traditional patterns" [syn: break, break away]
4: withdraw from an organization or communion; "After the break up of the Soviet Union, many republics broke away" [syn: secede, splinter, break away]
5: flee; take to one's heels; cut and run; "If you see this man, run!"; "The burglars escaped before the police showed up" [syn: scat, run, scarper, turn tail, lam, run away, hightail it, bunk, head for the hills, take to the woods, escape, fly the coop, break away]

Merriam Webster's

intransitive verb Date: 1535 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

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. If you break away from someone who is trying to hold you or catch you, you free yourself and run away. I broke away from him and rushed out into the hall... Willie Hamilton broke away early in the race. = cut loose PHRASAL VERB: V P from n, V P 2. If you break away from something or someone that restricts you or controls you, you succeed in freeing yourself from them. Aboriginal art has finally gained recognition and broken away from being labelled as 'primitive' or 'exotic'... PHRASAL VERB: V P from n/-ing

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

1. Escape (against resistance), break loose. 2. Be scattered, be dissipated.

Moby Thesaurus

apostacize, apostatize, bail out, betray, bolt, break jail, break loose, change sides, cut loose, defect, desert, escape, escape prison, evade, fall away, fall off, flee, fly the coop, get away, get clear of, get free, get out, get out of, go over, jump, let down, make a getaway, pull out, rat, run out on, secede, sell out, skip, slip the collar, switch, switch over, turn cloak