English Dictionary | Video | Thesaurus | School | Translator | Grammar | Scrabble | Blog

English
This page in

American

Italiano

Deutsch

Español

Português

हिंदी

简体中文

| Sign Up | Log In

Definition of 'break away'

break away

1. phrasal verb

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. [VERB PARTICLE + from]

Willie Hamilton broke away early in the race. [VERB PARTICLE]

2. phrasal verb

If you break away from something or someone that restricts you or controls you, you succeed in freeing yourself from them.

Many contemporary designers have tried to break away from classical formal patterns. [VERB PARTICLE + from]

The group broke away from the Labour Party in 1932. [VERB PARTICLE]

COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers

break away in American

to leave suddenly; get away; escape

Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

Example sentences containing 'break away'

These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content. Read more…

Maybe this would be the thing that finally got her to break away from Sherrie. Isobel Bird CIRCLE OF THREE: BOOK 7: BLUE MOON (2001)

Word Lists

Horse racing terms

Nearby words of 'break away'

Source

Definition of break away from the Collins English Dictionary

Capital letters

A capital(or‘upper case’) letter is used to mark the beginning of a sentence. W hen I was 20, I dropped out of university and became a model. Capital letters are also used for the first letter in p...

Read more about 'Capital letters'

Word of the day:

a percussion instrument consisting of a ridged gourd or bamboo cane that is scraped with a piece of wood or metal

See full definition

5 unusual words & phrases to upgrade your World Cup 2018 banter

Impress your friends, family and colleagues with this unusual collection of football lingo.

VAR, planebae & a peng sort: July’s Words in the News

Catch up on the latest words in the news this July with Robert Groves.

Join the Collins community

All the latest wordy news, linguistic insights, offers and competitions every month.

Latest Word Submissions

goader Sep 20, 2018

farter Sep 20, 2018

burper Sep 20, 2018

kicks Sep 20, 2018

dad trainers Sep 20, 2018

Submit View More

Create an account and sign in to access this FREE content

Register now or login in to access