Breakaway

How to spell breakaway

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce breakaway

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does breakaway mean?

1. nounA sudden departure or separation from a larger group, organisation, or established position.
2. adjectiveDescribing a faction or group that has separated from a larger one.
3. nounA sudden surge ahead of the field by a player or rider who escapes the rest of the pack.

Breakaway in a sentence

• noun

  The new party was formed after a bitter breakaway from the old leadership.

• adjective

  The breakaway faction set up its own headquarters across town.

• noun

  Two riders forced a breakaway on the final climb and held their lead to the line.

• noun

  The deal collapsed and a complete breakaway from the negotiations followed.

• adjective

  A small breakaway republic declared its independence overnight.

• noun

  The striker scored on a fast breakaway after the defence pushed forward.

Where does breakaway come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a transparent English compound built from two very old native words. The verb 'break' descends from the Old English brecan, meaning to shatter or force apart, which itself goes back to a Proto-Germanic root shared with German brechen and ultimately the same source as the Latin frangere, 'to break'. The second element 'away' comes from the Old English on weg, literally 'on the way' or 'off', which contracted over centuries into a single word. Joined together, 'breakaway' began as the verb phrase 'to break away' (to separate forcibly or escape) and from the late nineteenth century hardened into a single noun and adjective for any sudden separation from a group. The spelling holds no surprises since both halves keep their familiar everyday forms; the only thing to watch is that it is written solid, with no hyphen and no space.

How the word is built

• break (to separate, from Old English brecan)
• away (from off, from Old English aweg)