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break a habit

[/breɪk ə ˈhæbɪt/]
verb phrase
quebrar um hábito
1. to stop doing something that you do regularly, especially something that is difficult to stop
I'm trying to break the habit of drinking coffee late at night.
Estou tentando quebrar o hábito de beber café tarde da noite.
2. to successfully eliminate a repetitive or compulsive behavior
She finally managed to break the habit of biting her nails.
Ela finalmente conseguiu quebrar o hábito de roer as unhas.
NYC Slang
kick the habit
Synonyms
quit a habitkick a habitstop a habitovercome a habitget rid of a habit
Antonyms
form a habitdevelop a habitestablish a habitpick up a habit

Regional Variations

General Brazilian
quebrar um hábito
most common usage
General Brazilian
se livrar de um hábito
alternative expression meaning 'get rid of a habit'
Portugal
quebrar um hábito
standard usage
Portugal
desfazer-se de um hábito
more formal alternative

Related Idioms & Phrases

old habits die hard
habit is a hard thing to break
kick the habit
creature of habit
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