break off — become detached
phrasal verbB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
To separate or come away from something by breaking.
Say it like a native
Textbook A piece of the handle became detached in my hand.
Native A bit of the handle broke off in my hand.
'Break off' is the everyday verb for a piece coming away; 'became detached' is formal.
Pattern: break off (sth) | break (sth) off
In use
- Be careful with that chair—one of the legs might break off if you lean back too far.daily life
- During the experiment, a small part of the glass tube broke off, so we had to start over.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ The branch broke off from by the wind.
✓ The branch broke off in the wind.
'Break off' works alone here — don't add 'from by'.
Common collocations
break off (a piece)— a piece, a bit, cleanly, in the wind
Don't confuse it
'Fall off' means to drop by itself, while 'break off' means to separate by breaking.
Related
- break off (end a relationship or talks) — Another meaning of 'break off' is 'end a relationship or talks'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.