break away

break a·way

B b

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [breyk uh-wey]
- /breɪk əˈweɪ/
- /breɪk əˈweɪ/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [breyk uh-wey]
- /breɪk əˈweɪ/

Definitions of break away words

phrasal verb break away If you break away from someone who is trying to hold you or catch you, you free yourself and run away. 3
phrasal verb break away If you break away from something or someone that restricts you or controls you, you succeed in freeing yourself from them. 3
noun break away to leave suddenly; get away; escape 3
verb with object break away to smash, split, or divide into parts violently; reduce to pieces or fragments: He broke a vase. 1
verb with object break away to infringe, ignore, or act contrary to (a law, rule, promise, etc.): She broke her promise. 1
verb with object break away to dissolve or annul (often followed by off): to break off friendly relations with another country. 1

See all 121 definitions of break away

Information block about the term

Origin of break away

First appearance:

before 900

One of the 4% oldest English words

before 900; Middle English breken, Old English brecan; cognate with Dutch breken, German brechen, Gothic brikan; akin to Latin frangere; see fragile

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Break away

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Break away

break away popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 97% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

break away usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for break away

verb break away

flee — to run away, as from danger or pursuers; take flight.
fly — to move through the air using wings.
leave — to go out of or away from, as a place: to leave the house.
quit — to stop, cease, or discontinue: She quit what she was doing to help me paint the house.
split — to divide or separate from end to end or into layers: to split a log in two.

All 7 Synonyms of break away