v.

1. break off (a piece from a whole);
   chip, chip off, come off, break off
   
   • Her tooth chipped
2. move away or escape suddenly;
   break, break out
   
   • The horses broke from the stable
   • Three inmates broke jail
   • Nobody can break out--this prison is high security
3. interrupt a continued activity;
   break
   
   • She had broken with the traditional patterns
4. withdraw from an organization or communion;
   secede, splinter
   
   • After the break up of the Soviet Union, many republics broke away
5. flee; take to one's heels; cut and run;
   scat, run, scarper, turn tail, lam, run away, hightail it, bunk, head for the hills, take to the woods, escape, fly the coop
   
   • If you see this man, run!
   • The burglars escaped before the police showed up