break-offとは 意味・読み方・使い方

発音

動詞

break off (third-person singular simple present breaks off, present participle breaking off, simple past broke off, past participle broken off)

1. (transitive) To remove a piece from a whole by breaking or snapping.

   She unwrapped the slab of chocolate and broke off a piece.

   • 1900 May 17, L[yman] Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.: Geo[rge] M[elvin] Hill Co., →OCLC:

     The bees came and found no one but the Woodman to sting, so they flew at him and broke off all their stings against the tin, without hurting the Woodman at all.

2. (intransitive) To become detached by breaking or snapping.

   A chunk of rock broke off from the cliff face.

3. (transitive) To discontinue abruptly.

   Both families want the lovers to break off any relationship they may have.

   • 1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 101:

     When the yacht had passed the man resumed the conversation that her appearance had broken off.

   • 2023 February 25, Tim Dowling, “Tim Dowling: I’m revisiting my worst ever moment on stage – a Christmas panto”, in The Guardian‎, archived from the original on 16 June 2023:

     In fact I never said it; she eventually realised I was someone else, and broke off the conversation abruptly.

4. (intransitive) To end abruptly, either temporarily or permanently.

   Our school doesn't break off until July.

   • [1898], J[ohn] Meade Falkner, Moonfleet, London; Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934, →OCLC:

     Then the conversation broke off, and there was little more talking, only a noise of men going backwards and forwards, and of putting down of kegs and the hollow gurgle of good liquor being poured from breakers into the casks.

   • 1922, F[rancis] Scott Fitzgerald, “A Matter of Civilization”, in The Beautiful and Damned, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, book 3, page 341:

     “ […] Because desire just cheats you. It's like a sunbeam skipping here and there about a room. It stops and gilds some inconsequential object, and we poor fools try to grasp it—but when we do the sunbeam moves on to something else, and you've got the inconsequential part, but the glitter that made you want it is gone—” He broke off uneasily.

5. (ambitransitive, billiards, snooker) To play the first shot in a frame of snooker, billiards or pool.
   • 2017, John Virgo, Say Goodnight, JV - My Autobiography, John Blake Publishing, →ISBN:

     Ted's opening line, when Steve broke off for the deciding frame, was, 'Last night we put our clocks back one hour. These two stars turned theirs back to April.'

6. (transitive, slang, African-American Vernacular) To give (someone) (something); to allow (someone) to take (something); to grant (someone) a share or portion of (something).

   If you help, I'll break you off a piece of the proceeds.

アナグラム

• off break