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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of breaks up
Needless to say, Bobby breaks up with her later.
—
Jake Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Aug. 2025
Jake Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for breaks up
Verb
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And the hope is that this creature, who's all set up to create chaos and violence, somehow stops that and changes it all.—
Gerrad Hall,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Sep. 2025
-
With the right mix of competence and strategy, engineers can create careers that are both resilient and rewarding in a world that never stops changing.—
Srishti Gupta,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
That’s not all though; the inside of the bag offers a center zippered compartment, which divides the interior into three separate sections to organize your essentials.—
Alicia Geigel,
Southern Living,
5 Sep. 2025
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In a nutshell, OFDMA divides channels into resource units (RUs), allowing for smaller data packets that can be transmitted to multiple users simultaneously.—
Rob Pegoraro,
PC Magazine,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Apple will be there waiting, sitting on a mountain of cash, ready to partner with (or outright acquire) whichever operation cracks the code.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
10 Sep. 2025
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For example, Harvard barely cracks the top 30.—
Bruno V. Manno,
Forbes.com,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
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As compared to solar power, which ceases production at night, or wind power, which is dependent on weather conditions, the sea is in constant motion.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
1 Sep. 2025
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But those will soon be gone, too, as the drugstore chain ceases to exist nationwide.—
Angela Palermo,
Idaho Statesman,
23 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Incomplete or inconsistent data disrupts workflows and triggers irrelevant follow-ups.—
Al Sefati,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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And there’s the impact of climate change itself, which disrupts seasonal temperature change routines.—
Tim McDonnell,
semafor.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Everyone laughs about Laura’s over-protectiveness; her suffocating affection is a joke.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Wan laughs when recalling the day.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The installation dissolves the fourth wall, bringing viewers into the heart of the performance with hyperreal dancers from Company Wayne McGregor and the Hong Kong Ballet in a unique soundscape by Invisible Mountain.—
Charlie Fink,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
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For the first stretch of Erupcja, Charli almost dissolves into the screen, not like an outsize personality who’s dressing down for a part, but like someone who isn’t able to repurpose her considerable ability to hold our attention — or to give us any sense of what’s on her character’s mind.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Games Cowboys have to have When the season ultimately ends, or when there is talk of playoffs, this is one of those nights the Cowboys will look back on and curse themselves for not winning.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
5 Sep. 2025
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The Nun ends on a flashback to a scene from The Conjuring, revealing that Ed and Lorraine performed an exorcism on Maurice, the man who helped Irene defeat Valak but ended up getting secretly possessed in the process.—
Emily Palmer Heller,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Breaks up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breaks%20up. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.
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