disrupt

verb

dis·rupt | \ dis-ˈrəpt

disrupted; disrupting; disrupts

Definition of disrupt

1a : to break apart : rupture three periods of faulting disrupted the rocks — University of Arizona Record

b : to throw into disorder demonstrators trying to disrupt the meeting

2 : to interrupt the normal course or unity of … disrupted a bridge game by permanently hiding up the ace of spades …— Scott Fitzgerald can disrupt an industry with new technology

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Examples of disrupt in a Sentence

The barking dogs disrupted my sleep. The weather disrupted our travel plans. a chemical that disrupts cell function

Recent Examples on the Web

This style disrupted the ability of Orlando City to move the ball effectively, particularly through the midfield, where passing lanes were often clogged to force turnovers. — Julia Poe, Pro Soccer USA, "Three things we learned from Orlando City’s 3-0 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes," 3 Sep. 2019 In a raucous and emotional display, about two dozen protesters disrupted the Assembly hearing when the chair, Democratic Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez of San Diego, announced that the committee had advanced SB276. — Dustin Gardiner, SFChronicle.com, "11th-hour deal paves way for bill to end rent gouging in state," 30 Aug. 2019 Pushing updates to users and cajoling participants to agree on changes can disrupt a network and quickly erode confidence in a cryptocurrency, resulting in price declines. — Matthew De Silva, Quartz, "There’s a $10,000 reward for breaking Facebook’s cryptocurrency," 27 Aug. 2019 The Brazilian government has said European countries are exaggerating Brazil's environmental problems in order to disrupt its commercial interests. — Fox News, "Amazon wildfires get some help from US firefighting plane," 24 Aug. 2019 Bolsonaro has accused Macron of politicizing the issue, and his government said European countries are exaggerating Brazil’s environmental problems in order to disrupt its commercial interests. — BostonGlobe.com, "Brazil’s Bolsonaro prepares to send army to contain Amazon fires," 23 Aug. 2019 In the Big Red Ball, the constant collisions disrupt that alignment. — Chris Lee, Ars Technica, "Sun’s solar wind recreated in lab with aid of Big Red Ball," 23 Aug. 2019 The night's first honoree, Rising Star Award recipient Amanda Holmes, disrupted the trend in youthful, floor-length bubblegum pink. — Amber Elliott, Houston Chronicle, "Tina Knowles-Lawson, TV stars steal the show at Ensemble Theatre gala," 19 Aug. 2019 Manipulating user preferences and using bot armies to leverage widespread deceit has disrupted societal cohesion and democratic processes. — Wired Opinion, WIRED, "AI Algorithms Need FDA-Style Drug Trials," 15 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'disrupt.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.