disrupted; disrupting; disrupts
1
2
a
: to interrupt the normal course or unity of
… disrupted a bridge game by permanently hiding up the ace of spades …—F. Scott Fitzgerald
b
business
: to cause upheaval in (an industry, market, etc.)
The banking industry, on the other hand, is being disrupted by a breakdown of the model of paying money on deposits and taking interest on loans.—Cromwell Schubarth
specifically
: to successfully challenge (established businesses, products, or services) by using an innovation (such as a new technology or business model) to gain a foothold in a marginal or new segment of the market and then fundamentally changing the nature of the market
In contrast, the digital technologies that allowed personal computers to disrupt minicomputers improved much more quickly; Compaq was able to increase revenue more than tenfold and reach parity with the industry leader, DEC, in only 12 years. —Clayton M. Christensen et al.
… this innovative service that might disrupt the industry comes at the low end of the product/service/technology, a place where these high-end consumers have neither interest nor experience. This low-end attack, which initially does not attract much attention, might grow to be a high quality service that supplants the incumbent. —Eitan Muller
disrupter
noun
or less commonly disruptor
Cite this Entry
“Disrupt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disrupt. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.
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