breakup

1 of 2

noun

break·​up ˈbrāk-ˌəp How to pronounce breakup (audio)
1
: an act or instance of breaking up
2
: the breaking, melting, and loosening of ice in the spring

break up

2 of 2

verb

broke up; broken up; breaking up; breaks up

intransitive verb

1
a
: to cease to exist as a unified whole : disperse
their partnership broke up
b
: to end a romance
2
: to lose morale, composure, or resolution
especially : to become abandoned to laughter
breaks up completely, laughing himself into a coughing fit Gene Williams

transitive verb

1
: to break into pieces
2
: to bring to an end
broke up the fight
3
: to do away with : destroy
break up a monopoly
4
: to disrupt the continuity or flow of
break up a dull routine
5
: decompose
break up a chemical
6
: to cause to laugh heartily

Examples of breakup in a Sentence

Noun Money problems often lead to marital breakups. She's just gone through a bad breakup with her boyfriend. He began drinking heavily following the breakup of his marriage. a couple heading for marital breakup What caused the breakup of the Roman Empire? the breakup of a monopoly the breakup of an asteroid as it hits the Earth's atmosphere Verb the band broke up when their arguments over money grew too stressful the meeting broke up when all the business for the day had been completed
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
His relationship with the Argentine singer Nicki Nicole ends publicly (After the breakup, Peso declined to comment on the relationship). Julyssa Lopez, Rolling Stone, 11 Mar. 2024 Ever since, the Tinseltown tradition has seen stars attend film premieres, festivals and award ceremonies bedecked in couture, debuting new looks or new relationships (or, perhaps, subtly hinting at a breakup) with photographers capturing their every move. Marie Lodi, CNN, 9 Mar. 2024 Notably, neither seemed to confirm that skipping the altar would mean a breakup. Sam Reed, Glamour, 8 Mar. 2024 The cases could result in orders for the companies to change their practices, or even a partial breakup of their businesses. David McCabe, New York Times, 4 Mar. 2024 Venus’ clash with Uranus forecasts breakups, makeups, sudden attractions – even unexpected surprises! USA TODAY, 3 Mar. 2024 One factor, certainly, is that the underlying causes of homelessness, such as sky-high housing costs, family breakups, mental illness and drug addiction have not abated. Dan Walters, The Mercury News, 29 Feb. 2024 In February 2024, Love filed for divorce again, marking the pair's fourth breakup. Emily J. Shiffer, Peoplemag, 27 Feb. 2024 Some of them overlapped, and there were breakups and makeups. Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 26 Feb. 2024
Verb
The odd industrial goth breaks up neutral-toned athleisure. Lina Abascal, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2024 Still, others said that breaking up funding into two chunks of legislation war hardly a breakthrough. Kevin Freking, Quartz, 9 Mar. 2024 Johnny and Amy Questions about birth control weren't enough to break up this couple! Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 6 Mar. 2024 In January 2020, a source confirmed to PEOPLE that the two broke up, citing demanding work and travel schedules. Stephanie Wenger, Peoplemag, 6 Mar. 2024 The birds gather in large flocks during fall and winter and break up during the mating season. Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 4 Mar. 2024 On a recent Wednesday night, the class broke up into subgroups focused on spaces where residents experience heat: agriculture; transit; mobile homes and emergency shelters; and schools and parks. Dorany Pineda, Fortune, 4 Mar. 2024 The physical altercation was broken up by students and a faculty member, police have said. Virginia Langmaid, CNN, 2 Mar. 2024 The effervescent hue is broken up only by a black hood and chrome trim, as well as the lower carbon-fiber sections which have been painted silver after having been left exposed on the first two cars in the series. Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 29 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'breakup.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1794, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 3

Time Traveler
The first known use of breakup was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near breakup

Cite this Entry

“Breakup.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/breakup. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

breakup

1 of 2 noun
break·​up ˈbrā-ˌkəp How to pronounce breakup (audio)
: an act or an instance of breaking up

break up

2 of 2 verb
(ˈ)brā-ˈkəp
1
: to separate into parts
enzymes help break up protein molecules
2
: to bring or come to an end
the police broke up the demonstration
the party began to break up
3
: to end a romance
they dated for a while but broke up
4
: to go or cause to go into a fit of laughter
that joke always breaks me up

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