BREAK OFF


Meaning of BREAK OFF in English

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 )

Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Английский словарь Коллинз COBUILD для изучающих язык на продвинутом уровне.