disrupt

verb

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dis·rupt | \ dis-ˈrəpt

disrupted; disrupting; disrupts

Definition of disrupt

transitive verb

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 Witches exist on the margins, in the shadows, ever threatening to invade and disrupt the sanctity of the social order. — Jeanna Kadlec, Longreads, "Deconstructing Disney: Motherhood and the Taming of Maleficent," 8 Oct. 2020 The South Korean company is building a factory in Georgia to help meet this demand, but a fight over trade secrets has put the plant’s future in jeopardy and could disrupt new model launches, both auto makers have said in legal filings. — Ben Foldy, WSJ, "GM, Ford Need Electric-Car Batteries, but Take Different Paths to Get Them," 3 Oct. 2020 Stanton, who had an extra point blocked earlier in the game, did just that after Fayetteville used three timeouts to try and disrupt the senior kicker. — Rick Fires, Arkansas Online, "Clutch kick lifts Grizzlies," 3 Oct. 2020 The charges, which may disrupt a key component of the global cryptocurrency market, sent most cryptocurrencies into an immediate selloff. — David Z. Morris, Fortune, "Giant cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX hit with criminal and civil money laundering charges," 1 Oct. 2020 The attacks would prevent users from accessing those online resources and could temporarily disrupt business activities. — Mica Soellner, Washington Examiner, "FBI and CISA issue warning to voters regarding election-related cyberattacks," 30 Sep. 2020 The wings make lift happen, but also disrupt that smooth air over the fuselage. — Rob Verger, Popular Science, "This weird-looking plane could someday be a fast, clean option for air travel," 28 Sep. 2020 Such attacks seek to lock users out of their computers, demanding a hefty ransom to regain access, and can significantly disrupt operations for days or even weeks. — Kartikay Mehrotra, Bloomberg.com, "Hackers Have Infiltrated Many of Washington State’s Agencies," 27 Sep. 2020 Birds sing louder in noisy environments, and research has shown the resulting stress can speed aging and disrupt their metabolisms. — Erik Stokstad, Science | AAAS, "When COVID-19 silenced cities, birdsong recaptured its former glory," 24 Sep. 2020

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.