to break away
11
3.9
- phrasal verb
- /breɪk əˈweɪ/
:
salir de la rutina
- After working long hours, he needed to break away from the stress and take a relaxing weekend trip.
- break away from egocentrism
Examples
-
It's his opportunity to break away, even briefly, from the responsibilities and pressures of the job.
Blog text (3) -
During her vacation, she decided to break away from her usual routine and try something new.
-
I think you need to break away from it for a while.
-
I need to break away.
-
The idea is to break away from it.
Fiction book (1994) -
We wanted to break away from comedy to write...
-
Students and teachers work together to break away from the traditional literature teaching methods.
Academic text (2004) -
But before he picked up the phone, Obama had to break away from United Nations talks.
Blog text (9) -
Through continuous practice and new experiences, they are able to break away from old patterns of thinking and adopt new ones.
Academic text (1994) -
Being willing to break away from a preestablished syllabus freed me to respect my class as a unique entity.
Academic text (2011)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To go away from a place, person, or group
575
2.3
End a relationship or go separate ways
496
1.4
To stop doing something for a short time to rest or relax before continuing
481
2.9
To move apart or stop being together
466
2.8
To stop taking part in a place or activity
374
3.2
To go away from work or home to rest and relax
356
2.8
Move away from someone, or stop taking part in something
206
3.4
To stop being involved in an activity or agreement
137
2.7
To end a close relationship and go separate ways
104
4.1
Stop doing something for a short time, for example at a point in a book
86
3.5
To move away from people or a place to create space
50
3.2
To stop something suddenly before it is finished, for example a talk or relationship
34
3.9
To stop doing something because you cannot continue or feel you have done enough
24
3.2
Stop what you are doing to rest or do something different for a short time
23
4.1
End a relationship with someone or something in a clear, final way
11
4.1
To escape limits or control and become independent
8
3.9
To force yourself free from a place or person
3
6.7
To stop being involved with a person, group, or idea
To get out of the same boring routine
Antonyms
How Different
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to separate or detach' is directly and predictably derived from combining 'break' (to cause something to separate) with 'away' (movement or separation to another location), so a learner who knows both words can infer the MWE meaning. This verb+particle composition is a common, compositional pattern in English (and mirrored in many languages), making it immediately comprehensible to B1 learners.
Etymology
Break away paints the image of breaking a pattern—stepping out of a line or routine to do something different. So it means 'to stop' a usual activity and try something new.