break a habit — stop a habit
collocationB2IELTS 6+neutralcommon
to stop doing something you have done regularly for a long time
Say it like a native
Textbook It is difficult to discontinue a long-established habit.
Native It's hard to break a habit you've had for years.
'Break a habit' is the fixed collocation; 'discontinue a habit' is unnatural.
Pattern: break a habit / break the habit of doing something
In use
- It took me months to break the habit of checking my phone in bed.health
- Bad habits are easy to form but hard to break, especially ones you've had since childhood.IELTS Part 3
Common mistake
✗ I want to stop my habit of biting my nails.
✓ I want to break my habit of biting my nails.
We BREAK a habit (the opposite is form/pick up a habit).
Common collocations
break + habit— a bad habit, the habit of..., old habits
Don't confuse it
Breaking a habit is ending an old behaviour, not starting one.