From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englisha clean breaka clean breakSUDDENLYa complete and sudden separation from a person, organization, or situation Den left the next day, needing to make a clean break. → clean
Examples from the Corpus
a clean break• Why argue about the terms of the divorce when both of you just want a clean break?• Gossip has it that his wife had recently left him and he wanted to make a clean break.• It was best to make a clean break.• Men may suffer just as much when a relationship fails, but they seem able to make a cleaner break.• The adoption of an economy based on farming did not effect a clean break.• In such cases a clean break at 16+ removed many existing constraints and frustrations.• And this year the association has tried to make a clean break from the past.• He says it indicates a clean break with a stupid and superstitious past.• He made almost a clean break with the game, except for some local television work. 