break-off

plural break-offs · alternative breakoff

1. That which breaks off, or is broken off

   Stable glacier advance and retreat Advancing glaciers may inundate land, override installations (e.g., hydropower installations), dam rivers and form lakes, cause ice break-offs when the glacier advances over a cliff, etc.

   2011, Vijay P. Singh, Pratap Singh, Umesh K. Haritashya, Encyclopedia of Snow, Ice and Glaciers, page 767

2. A break, discontinuance, or interruption

   All break-offs occur due to the deadline being reached or an occasional agent crash on a big domain.

   2016, Tim Baarslag, Exploring the Strategy Space of Negotiating Agents

3. ball gamesThe first shot in a game of snooker or other cue-game

1. nonstandardNonstandard form of break off (“to play the first shot in a frame of snooker, billiards or pool”).