break a habit
/breɪk ə ˈhæbɪt/
Meaning
To break a habit means to stop doing something that you do regularly and automatically, especially something bad or unhealthy. It requires conscious effort over a period of time to stop the behavior.
Examples
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It takes about 21 days of continuous effort to break a habit like biting your nails.
It takes about 21 days of continuous effort to break a habit like biting your nails.
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I'm trying to break the habit of checking my phone as soon as I wake up.
I'm trying to break the habit of checking my phone as soon as I wake up.
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Once you start sleeping in late, it is very difficult to break the habit.
Once you start sleeping in late, it is very difficult to break the habit.
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She managed to break her habit of drinking soda with every meal.
She managed to break her habit of drinking soda with every meal.
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He wants to break the habit of interrupting people when they are speaking.
He wants to break the habit of interrupting people when they are speaking.
Common Mistakes
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✗ I want to stop my habit of smoking.
✓ I want to break my habit of smoking.
While 'stop' is grammatically correct, 'break a habit' is the natural English collocation used by native speakers.
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✗ It is hard to break down a bad habit.
✓ It is hard to break a bad habit.
Adding 'down' changes the meaning. 'Break down' means to collapse or analyze, while 'break a habit' means to stop a routine.
Related Expressions
Practice
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If you want to save money, you need to ___ of buying coffee every day.
💡 Stop doing a regular routine.
Show answer
break the habit
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It is much easier to form a good routine than to ___ an old, bad one.
💡 Stop doing something you do automatically.
Show answer
break a habit