1
as in disbands
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stops
to come to an end
the meeting broke up when all the business for the day had been completed
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in divides
to set or force apart
he broke up the rocks in the old stone wall with a crowbar, sending them tumbling to the ground
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in cracks
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
5
as in ceases
to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end
police arrived at the scene and immediately broke up the fracas
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in disrupts
to cause to separate into pieces usually suddenly or forcibly
break up the feta cheese and spread it over the salad
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
7
as in laughs
to show mirth with an explosive vocal sound
if you break up during the skit, the audience will know that you're in on the joke
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 breaks up
While Sam begins hallucinating people as puppets, Justin breaks up with him.
—
Olivia Singh, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Belly, devastated by the betrayal, slaps Jeremiah and breaks up with him.
—Alexandra Hurtado, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2025
Needless to say, Bobby breaks up with her later.
—Jake Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Aug. 2025
Olivia Singh, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Belly, devastated by the betrayal, slaps Jeremiah and breaks up with him.
—Alexandra Hurtado, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2025
Needless to say, Bobby breaks up with her later.
—Jake Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for breaks up
Verb
-
And once the dog is found, the Search Party network disbands.—
Mike Feibus,
USA Today,
4 Oct. 2025
-
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
Verb
-
The elevator stops at each floor and a new ghostly guest arrives offering some insight into Will’s plan.—
Amber McBride,
Literary Hub,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Some gardeners choose to pinch those old flowers away every day to enhance the look of their plants, while others decide to wait until the entire flower scape stops blooming to cut the scape stem down to the soil line.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Food apartheid in Metcalfe Park Census data show how sharply the food access crisis divides Milwaukee.—
April Quevedo,
jsonline.com,
7 Nov. 2025
-
What divides him from Burton is that Hopkins, by a miracle, summoned the clarity to renounce his own destruction.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Tom almost completes his and then cracks it while putting it in the freezer.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
-
Phillies avoid Shohei Ohtani, but Jhoan Duran cracks Jhoan Duran faced 81 batters after a summer trade brought him to the Phillies.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
From December through February, shuttle service largely ceases (outside of select days and weekends; check shuttle schedules for up-to-date details).—
Stephanie Vermillion,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Nov. 2025
-
Plenty of literary audio has been made in the more than eight years since S-Town, but the writer language used to talk about podcasting ceases to exist outside the editing room.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Schools can request waivers if the rule disrupts pick-ups or drop-offs.—
Nathan Pilling,
Kansas City Star,
7 Nov. 2025
-
The group also argued that moving people into federal immigration custody while local criminal cases are ongoing disrupts the legal process, potentially depriving victims of justice and defendants the opportunity to defend against charges.—
Laura Schulte,
jsonline.com,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Our group laughs at your group.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Affleck laughs and waits a beat.—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Neptune retrograde in Pisces, on the other hand, dissolves the fog of illusion, which also serves as an invitation to confront an emotional truth with clarity and compassion.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
-
And power, in its purest sense, is awareness so total that conflict dissolves into clarity.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Breaks up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breaks%20up. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share