Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Designed to break, bend, or fall apart easily upon impact, especially to create an illusion, as with a theater prop, or for safety, as with a highway sign or barrier.
  • adjective Severing or having severed alliance with another entity, policy, or attitude.
  • noun One that breaks away.
  • noun The act of breaking away, especially.
  • noun An offensive play in a team sport such as ice hockey in which a player with the ball or puck advances ahead of the defenders toward the goal.
  • noun A burst of speed by a competitor or group of competitors in a race to break free of the pack.
  • noun An object designed to break away.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun An animal which breaks away from a herd or flock.
  • noun A panic rush of sheep, cattle, horses, or other animals at the sight or smell of water; a stampede.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A wild rush of sheep, cattle, horses, or camels (especially at the smell or the sight of water); a stampede.
  • noun An animal that breaks away from a herd.
  • noun an object designed to break off or shatter under impact, as a safety measure.
  • noun (Sport) the sudden emergence of one or more players or contestants from a clustered group, rushing toward a goal, as bicyclists in a race, or baketball players after a rebound has been caught.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Having broken away from a larger unit.
  • adjective Capable of breaking off without damaging the larger structure.
  • noun cycling A group of riders which has gone ahead of the peloton.
  • noun ice hockey A situation in the game where one or more players of a team attack towards the goal of the other team without having any defenders in front of them.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective having separated or advocating separation from another entity or policy or attitude
  • noun the act of breaking away or withdrawing from
  • verb flee; take to one's heels; cut and run
  • verb withdraw from an organization or communion
  • verb interrupt a continued activity
  • verb break off (a piece from a whole)
  • verb move away or escape suddenly

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • “But because yours is the—” The word breakaway occurred to him, but he discarded it. “—newer nation, that would suggest that any uniting of the two would favor Tal’Aura’s government.”

    Star Trek: Typhon Pact: Rough Beasts of Empire David R. George III 2011

  • “But because yours is the—” The word breakaway occurred to him, but he discarded it. “—newer nation, that would suggest that any uniting of the two would favor Tal’Aura’s government.”

    Star Trek: Typhon Pact: Rough Beasts of Empire David R. George III 2011

  • “But because yours is the—” The word breakaway occurred to him, but he discarded it. “—newer nation, that would suggest that any uniting of the two would favor Tal’Aura’s government.”

    Star Trek: Typhon Pact: Rough Beasts of Empire David R. George III 2011

  • “But because yours is the—” The word breakaway occurred to him, but he discarded it. “—newer nation, that would suggest that any uniting of the two would favor Tal’Aura’s government.”

    Star Trek: Typhon Pact: Rough Beasts of Empire David R. George III 2011

  • “But because yours is the—” The word breakaway occurred to him, but he discarded it. “—newer nation, that would suggest that any uniting of the two would favor Tal’Aura’s government.”

    Star Trek: Typhon Pact: Rough Beasts of Empire David R. George III 2011

  • “But because yours is the—” The word breakaway occurred to him, but he discarded it. “—newer nation, that would suggest that any uniting of the two would favor Tal’Aura’s government.”

    Star Trek: Typhon Pact: Rough Beasts of Empire David R. George III 2011

  • “But because yours is the—” The word breakaway occurred to him, but he discarded it. “—newer nation, that would suggest that any uniting of the two would favor Tal’Aura’s government.”

    Star Trek: Typhon Pact: Rough Beasts of Empire David R. George III 2011

  • “But because yours is the—” The word breakaway occurred to him, but he discarded it. “—newer nation, that would suggest that any uniting of the two would favor Tal’Aura’s government.”

    Star Trek: Typhon Pact: Rough Beasts of Empire David R. George III 2011

  • “But because yours is the—” The word breakaway occurred to him, but he discarded it. “—newer nation, that would suggest that any uniting of the two would favor Tal’Aura’s government.”

    Star Trek: Typhon Pact: Rough Beasts of Empire David R. George III 2011

  • “But because yours is the—” The word breakaway occurred to him, but he discarded it. “—newer nation, that would suggest that any uniting of the two would favor Tal’Aura’s government.”

    Star Trek: Typhon Pact: Rough Beasts of Empire David R. George III 2011

Comments

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  • From 1919 to 1927, Breakaway was a popular swing dance developed from the Texas Tommy and Charleston in Harlem's African American communities. The Breakaway was danced to jazz, and while it often began in closed position, the leader would occasionally swing the follower out into an open position, hence "Breaking away". When in open position the dancers would improvise with fancy moves. Some variations included both dancers completely breaking away from each other to dance 'alone'. It is this 'breaking away' which revolutionised the European partner dancing structure, and by the late 1920s, Breakaway had been incorporated into Lindy Hop, which replaced it as a popular social dance.

    _Wikipedia

    February 26, 2008

  • "Nato's reservation in admitting Georgia has mainly stemmed from the unresolved status of the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, where Russia's grip poses a diplomatic minefield."

    - 'Georgia gets limited Nato support', aljazeera.net, 16 Sep 2008.

    September 16, 2008