Stopped working, dear, to take a break inside (8)
I believe the answer is:
arrested
'stopped' is the definition.
(arrest can mean to stop or obstruct)
'working dear to take a break inside' is the wordplay.
'working' indicates anagramming the letters.
'to take a break' becomes 'rest' (to have a rest is to take a break).
'inside' indicates putting letters inside.
'dear' is an anagram of 'ared'.
'ared' placed around 'rest' is 'ARRESTED'.
(Other definitions for arrested that I've seen before include "on the way to . . . [PRISON] ?" , "stalled" , "Taken into police custody" , "Stopped or slowed down progress" , "Stopped or slowed down development" .)