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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)

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Definition of break away from the Collins English Dictionary

Dare and need

The two verbs dare and need have characteristics of both modal verbs and main verbs. Because of this, they are called semi-modals. They sometimes behave like modal verbs and do not add -s to the form...

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