The phrase "acted as a break" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe something that serves to slow down or halt progress, often in a metaphorical sense.
Example: "The unexpected rainstorm acted as a break in our outdoor activities, forcing us to seek shelter."
Alternatives: "served as a pause" or "functioned as a stop".
In America, a dense network of open, voluntary social institutions has always acted as a break on runaway extremes.
Sonoma County, CA, October 2017 -- The freshly harvested vines and irrigation in this vineyard acted as a "break" for firefighters battling the most expensive wildfires in U.S. history that burned parts of six Northern California counties.
6) The Arab world, which in the past has acted as a break on Palestinians, inhibiting their ability to make concessions, is now fully behind the effort.
But in the medium term, the mentality that insists on hobbling search engines will surely act as a break on creative endeavour.
It was resolved that Gloucester must still be taken; if it was left in Parliamentarian hands, it would act as a break in lines of communication should the Royalists advance further east towards London.
Some mixing of haplotypes was noted within North Carolina, Washington DC and Tennessee, indicating that this region may act as a break point between the north and south clades (Fig. 1).
It was damaged in a major fire in 1633, but in the fire of 1666 this damage acted as a fire break and prevented the flames from further damaging the bridge and crossing to the south side of the Thames.
There's the tale of the woman who was first across the bridge when it opened in 1864; another who threw herself off it after being jilted by her lover but whose petticoats acted as a parachute breaking her fall.
Brock turned to Theresa and said, "Let's get outside in the dirt". The couple keeps cattle, and the wide, grazed area outside their hilltop home acted as a natural fire break.
As interpreters were ethnically matched with participants, they acted as a link and helped to break any perceived barriers of us and them: The interpreter that I work [with], they (South Asian community) really value her, they do, I suppose they're also seen as part of her community as well.
They clung to the hope that a change of regime would act as a fire break for the raging flames threatening to burn the sport to the ground.
