breaking off

verb

Definition of breaking offnext
present participle of break off
1
as in ending
to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end the judge broke off court proceedings until after lunch

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stopping
to come to an end talks between the two sides broke off when one began making unreasonable demands

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for breaking off
  1. ending
  2. stopping
  3. ceasing
  4. expiring
  5. halting
  6. concluding
  7. passing
Verb
  • Bricks that were most likely 184 years old were removed from the foundation of the church, ending its almost two centuries-long mission.
    Noe Padilla, The Indianapolis Star, 24 Dec. 2024
  • Back then, in the first weeks of the war, Russia and Ukraine conducted several rounds of talks in person and online aimed at ending the conflict; although a framework for peace called the Istanbul Communiqué was drawn up, an agreement was never finalized.
    Samuel Charap, Foreign Affairs, 24 Dec. 2024
Definition of ending
Verb
  • Tom Allen’s defense completely rattled the Mustangs and now they’ll be challenged with stopping a Broncos team that ranks fourth in the FBS in scoring offense.
    Jayna Bardahl, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024
  • From near-death experiences via boulder chasing, tangling with deadly snakes, stopping fascist organizations in their tracks to communing with aliens, archaeologist Indiana Jones has done it all.
    Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 23 Dec. 2024
Definition of stopping
Verb
  • Indeed, in February, The Star Ledger is ceasing its print publication entirely and moving to an online-only format.
    Charles Ornstein, ProPublica, 18 Dec. 2024
  • This event led to Cruise losing its operating permit in California and ceasing operations in Arizona and Texas.
    IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of ceasing
Verb
  • An ideal framework for Los Angeles would be baking some protections to both firsts and shipping out the expiring contracts of point guard D'Angelo Russell, center/power forward Christian Wood, and guard Jalen Hood-Schifino, plus the deal of defense-first reserve point guard Gabe Vincent.
    Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 23 Dec. 2024
  • With current funding expiring Friday night and Congress hoping to adjourn for the holidays, here's a look at how a government shutdown could impact Michigan.
    Fernando Cervantes Jr., Detroit Free Press, 20 Dec. 2024
Definition of expiring
Verb
  • Yoon's martial law decree and parliamentary impeachment have triggered a political storm, disrupting state affairs, halting high-level diplomacy and sending shockwaves through financial markets at a time when the country was already grappling with a faltering economy.
    KIM TONG-HYUNG THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, arkansasonline.com, 21 Dec. 2024
  • While many storks continue to follow these traditional routes, some populations in western Europe have adapted to milder winters and abundant food supplies by halting their migrations and overwintering closer to their breeding grounds.
    Scott Travers, Forbes, 21 Dec. 2024
Definition of halting
Verb
  • House Speaker Mike Johnson was opposed to its release, citing a longstanding practice of concluding ethics investigations after a member had left Congress.
    Emily Chang, ABC News, 23 Dec. 2024
  • Carey recently wrapped her Christmastime Tour, concluding a month-and-a-half long run with a final performance at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
    Marissa Muller, WWD, 22 Dec. 2024
Definition of concluding
Verb
  • During the same period, the number of candidates passing the four test sections needed to be licensed as a CPA fell even more dramatically—just 18,847 successfully completed the test in 2022, down 32% from 2016.
    Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
  • But the team has been one of the worst passing teams in the NHL, consistently mismanages the puck, makes routine mistakes in defensive zone coverage and still doesn’t handle the front of the net well enough in either zone.
    Matthew Fairburn, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024
Definition of passing
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near breaking off

breaking in

breaking off

breaking off (with)

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Breaking off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breaking%20off. Accessed 27 Dec. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

Point of View: It's Personal

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Words You Always Have to Look Up
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

8 Words with Fascinating Histories

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

10 Scrabble Words Without Any Vowels
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
naughty or nice
Are you naughty or nice? Quiz He's making a quiz, and checking it twice...