break·away
ˈbrā-kə-ˌwā 
1
a
: one that breaks away
b
: a departure from or rejection of something (such as a group or tradition)
2
a
: a play (as in hockey) in which an offensive player breaks free of the defenders and rushes toward the goal
b
: a sudden acceleration by one or more bicyclists pulling away from the pack in a race
3
: an object made to shatter or collapse under pressure or impact
1
: favoring independence from an affiliation : seceding
a breakaway faction formed a new party
2
: made to break, shatter, or bend easily
breakaway road signs for highway safety
3
a
: of, relating to, or resulting from a breakaway
a breakaway goal
b
: allowing or having an ability to execute a breakaway
breakaway speed
broke away; broken away; breaking away; breaks away
1
: to detach oneself especially from a group : get away
2
: to depart from former or accustomed ways
3
: to pull away with a burst of speed
Examples of breakaway in a Sentence
Adjective
A breakaway faction formed a new party.
Recent Examples on the Web
Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 25 Feb. 2025
Unfortunately, that breakaway can come at a heartbreaking cost, as one volunteer at Austin Pets Alive in Austin, Texas, who asked that her name not be included in this story but regularly posts to TikTok under the handle @goodboygonehome, revealed.
—Matt Robison, Newsweek, 24 Feb. 2025
Alexander Gabuev, Foreign Affairs, 13 Mar. 2023
In 2008, Russia and Georgia went to war over the breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia.
—Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2024
Alex Stambaugh, CNN, 12 Feb. 2025
The two people jumped on rocks after the glacier broke away, the woman, Lauren Jobe, told the outlet.
—Sara Schilling, Sacramento Bee, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for breakaway
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.
Noun
Dickinson, who for the second straight game had a steal that led to his own breakaway basket, previously had a KU career-high 31 points against Chaminade and 30 points against TCU, both a year ago, his first of two seasons at KU.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 25 Feb. 2025
Unfortunately, that breakaway can come at a heartbreaking cost, as one volunteer at Austin Pets Alive in Austin, Texas, who asked that her name not be included in this story but regularly posts to TikTok under the handle @goodboygonehome, revealed.
—Matt Robison, Newsweek, 24 Feb. 2025
Adjective
Furthermore, Moscow’s various calls for respect of the UN Charter would have been taken more seriously had Russia itself not unilaterally recognized the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in 2008, or annexed Crimea and instigated a war in Ukraine’s Donbas region in 2014.
—Alexander Gabuev, Foreign Affairs, 13 Mar. 2023
In 2008, Russia and Georgia went to war over the breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia.
—Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2024
Verb
The 139 fishermen became stranded when a 10-meter (32 feet) crack formed an ice floe that broke away from the island of Sakhalin and floated into the Sea of Okhotsk between Russia and Japan, emergency services said on Telegram.
—Alex Stambaugh, CNN, 12 Feb. 2025
The two people jumped on rocks after the glacier broke away, the woman, Lauren Jobe, told the outlet.
—Sara Schilling, Sacramento Bee, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for breakaway
Cite this Entry
“Breakaway.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/breakaway. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share