How to Use break off in a Sentence

break off

verb
  • Then break off the ends that hang out.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 25 Sep. 2025
  • Bleach can cause your hair to break off.
    — Caroline C. Boyle, USA Today, 20 Feb. 2026
  • Four teal break off a big mob and fly up the guts of the spread.
    — Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 19 June 2024
  • The tip of the knife blade was broken off.
    — Adrienne Davis, jsonline.com, 3 Feb. 2026
  • As a cruise-goer rode through it, acrylic glass broke off.
    — Miami Herald, 16 Aug. 2025
  • On our wedding night, the bear fell over and the head broke off.
    — Marc Myers, WSJ, 5 June 2018
  • Just pick one up and smell the part where the stem was broken off.
    — Terri Milligan, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 8 May 2018
  • Many of these branches break off at the tips where the eggs are laid.
    — Chris McKeown, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
  • The film was broken off from the rest of the film shot for that day.
    — Ryan Gajewski, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Sep. 2023
  • Shards of steel wool can break off and become lodged in the grain lines.
    — Jeanne Huber, Washington Post, 22 Aug. 2022
  • If seized, can twist its body so strongly that the tail can break off.
    — William Axford, Houston Chronicle, 14 May 2018
  • Last year, his boat got stuck in ice that broke off the nearby glacier.
    — ABC News, 3 Mar. 2026
  • Don’t twist or jerk the tick, which can cause the mouth to break off in your skin.
    — Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 18 May 2026
  • Don’t twist or jerk the tick, which can cause the mouth to break off in your skin.
    — Reeti Malhotra, Sacbee.com, 20 June 2026
  • This wind is so strong enough to break off parts of the houses along the beach.
    — Fox News, 15 Sep. 2018
  • Icebergs are large chunks of ice that break off of glaciers and float in the ocean.
    — Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 20 June 2023
  • Don’t pick up the entire piece of bread; break off a small piece and eat it.
    — Jenisha Watts, The Atlantic, 13 Sep. 2023
  • The whales break off the ends of bull kelp stalks and use them to groom each other.
    — Stephanie Edwards, Discover Magazine, 24 June 2025
  • The clip holding the ribbon to her medal broke off.
    — Rachel Roberts, Idaho Statesman, 8 Feb. 2026
  • Use your fingers to break off the branches.
    — Nan Sterman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 May 2026
  • The key had been broken off on the driver's side door.
    — Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 22 Apr. 2026
  • If they are dried out and break off easily, put the plant back.
    — Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2021
  • If they are dried out and break off easily, put the plant back.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Nov. 2021
  • As this grounding line recedes, bits of the ice shelf break off.
    — The Economist, 17 Aug. 2019
  • This leads us to episode 4, where the season breaks off and the show breaks down.
    — Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 16 Nov. 2023
  • The grass will often just break off at ground level when the soil is very dry.
    — Tim Johnson, chicagotribune.com, 7 Aug. 2021
  • When winter ends, the dunes heat up, causing ice blocks to break off.
    — Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 15 Oct. 2025
  • Now, though, some branches are breaking off.
    — Ann Manov, Harpers Magazine, 23 June 2026
  • Neeva doesn’t have to break off a lot of the search market share to do well.
    — David Doty, Forbes, 28 June 2021
  • Back at the motel, my wife broke off a small branch and stuffed it in a coffee can.
    — oregonlive, 21 Jan. 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'break off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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