break up 1 of 2

1
as in to disband
to cease to exist or cause to cease to exist as a group or organization the band broke up when their arguments over money grew too stressful

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
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4
as in to crack
to yield to mental or emotional stress the sort of person who would be among the first to break up in a prisoner of war camp

Synonyms & Similar Words

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breakup

2 of 2

noun

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of break up
Verb
The only thing that could break up the fight? Brian Moylan, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025 Use this guide to clean it in one day or to break up tasks throughout a longer time frame. Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 26 Sep. 2025
Noun
Follows Miguel, a landscape architect, who after a breakup in Belgium, begins to rebuild his life alongside Olga, a local volunteer. Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 24 Sep. 2025 Last year, Gonzalez landed on All-Pro second team after recording two interceptions, 11 pass breakups and 59 tackles over 16 games. Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 24 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for break up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for break up
Verb
  • DiCaprio plays Bob, a revolutionary in hiding with his teen daughter (Chase Infiniti) after his activist group the French 75 disbands in chaos.
    Matt Donnelly, Variety, 25 Sep. 2025
  • Utah, a former member, disbanded its beach volleyball program earlier this year.
    Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 24 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The traffic itself generally keeps moving rather than fully stopping.
    Eric D. Lawrence, USA Today, 28 Sep. 2025
  • Fighting on the island had stopped, so the soldiers in the picture were not under fire, and the action of raising the flag (there is a movie of it) took all of a few seconds.
    Louis Menand, New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • See how commonwealth compares to other states The classic Halloween symbol is also great at dividing the masses.
    Marina Johnson, Louisville Courier Journal, 2 Oct. 2025
  • Taiwan’s tender architecture is divided into two parts for 2026 and 2027.
    Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 1 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Kiper said Beck is among four other quarterbacks who could crack his top five, depending on how the season plays out.
    Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2025
  • Not a single player that will likely crack the Leafs lineup.
    Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Trouble in Mind Records, the Chicago label that specialized in punk and garage-rock for more than a decade, has ceased operations.
    Matthew Strauss, Pitchfork, 26 Sep. 2025
  • All her fraudulent welfare handouts ceased in January 2025.
    Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 26 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Eastern members of the alliance, including Estonia, Poland, and Romania, recently reported incursions into their airspace, while drones that disrupted Danish airports are suspected of being linked to Russia.
    semafor.com, semafor.com, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Sensory deprivation training has become increasingly common over the past decade, particularly when Steph Curry popularized practicing with strobe goggles to disrupt his vision.
    Jared Weiss, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The audience laughed, then a few hours later, its minds and anxieties provoked, spilled out into the warm September air a little heavier for the wear.
    Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Potter was able to laugh about it at a press conference on Friday, a pointless briefing given he was sacked the following morning.
    Phil Hay, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The divorce filing comes a day after reports surfaced about their split.
    Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Judge Subramanian was convinced by this argument and other factors in play following the surprise split verdict and did not allow Combs to be sent home on bail.
    Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Break up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/break%20up. Accessed 3 Oct. 2025.

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