break with (someone or something)

break with (someone or something)

1. To move away or separate from someone or something. I'm starting to break with the religious tradition I was raised in. I'm from a family of doctors, so I really broke with tradition when I went to art school! My best friend just got engaged, and she wants to break from convention and elope.

2. To cease communicating with a person or group. Ultimately, she had to break with her family and their dysfunctional ways in order to be healthy. I did love Bryan, that's why I had to break with him when we decided to stop seeing each other—it was just too painful. Please tell me Mara has broken with her abusive boyfriend once and for all.

See also: break

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

break with

1. Separate from, sever relations with. For example, On this issue the prime minister was forced to break with his cabinet. [Late 1500s] Also see break off, def. 2 and 3.

2. Depart from, reject, as in The couple broke with tradition and decided to write their own marriage vows. [Late 1800s]

See also: break

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

break with

v.

1. To discontinue something that has been ongoing or continuous: This year we broke with tradition and did not get a pumpkin for Halloween. The new farming technology has forced the farmers to break with their old methods.

2. To stop communicating with someone, especially because of distance or hostility: The brothers broke with the rest of the family when they moved out of town. I broke with my colleagues for years after our big argument.

See also: break

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.