breakup
1 of 2noun
break·up ˈbrāk-ˌəp 
1
: an act or instance of breaking up
2
: the breaking, melting, and loosening of ice in the spring
break up
2 of 2verb
broke up; broken up; breaking up; breaks up
intransitive verb
1
a
: to cease to exist as a unified whole : disperse
their partnership broke up
b
: to end a romance
2
: to lose morale, composure, or resolution
especially : to become abandoned to laughter
breaks up completely, laughing himself into a coughing fit 
Gene Williams
Gene Williams transitive verb
1
: to break into pieces
2
: to bring to an end
broke up the fight
3
: to do away with : destroy
break up a monopoly
4
: to disrupt the continuity or flow of
break up a dull routine
5
: decompose
break up a chemical
6
: to cause to laugh heartily
Synonyms
Noun
- bifurcation
- cleavage
- dissolution
- disunion
- division
- fractionalization
- fractionation
- partition
- schism
- scission
- separation
- split
- sundering
Verb
- disband
- disperse
- dissolve
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Noun Money problems often lead to marital breakups. She's just gone through a bad breakup with her boyfriend. He began drinking heavily following the breakup of his marriage. a couple heading for marital breakup What caused the breakup of the Roman Empire? the breakup of a monopoly the breakup of an asteroid as it hits the Earth's atmosphere Verb the band broke up when their arguments over money grew too stressful the meeting broke up when all the business for the day had been completed See More
Recent Examples on the Web Laura L. Davis, USA TODAY, 7 Sep. 2022 Rumors of the couple's split arose in June after two sources familiar with the situation told The New York Times that the two were getting divorced, adding that many of their close ones were shocked about the breakup. Michelle Lee, Peoplemag, 7 Sep. 2022 Shayk also previously opened up about their breakup, this time in a 2020 interview with British Vogue. Chelsey Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 29 Aug. 2022 Jones did speak up about their breakup in an interview with Voyage LA in 2020. Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 9 Aug. 2022 So how does Pete Davidson—who literally has Kim’s name branded on his chest—feel about the breakup? Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 8 Aug. 2022 The pair's Instagram activity reflects what multiple sources have said about their breakup. Alyssa Bailey, ELLE, 8 June 2022 Meanwhile, for the first time in the show's five-season run, the cast of Selling Sunset sits down for a reunion where plenty of topics are on the agenda; things get really emotional, and Jason and Chrishell talk about their breakup. Ew Staff, EW.com, 6 May 2022 Heard texted Carino in 2017 professing sadness about her breakup with Musk. CBS News, 27 Apr. 2022 Jodi Guglielmi, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2022 Overhead, a large rattan pendant light helps break up the otherwise neutral walls. Maria Sabella, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 Sep. 2022 Before heading the loan company, Stefanowski held key positions for 13 years at GE, which was based in Fairfield in its heyday before moving to Boston and essentially collapsing; GE will break up key parts of the company over the next two years. Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 28 Aug. 2022 Manchester City, which won its first two games, could break up the north London axis at the summit by beating Newcastle on Sunday. Steve Douglas, ajc, 20 Aug. 2022 Instead of having a single webinar running for four hours, break up the event into different segments with parallel tracks that allow students to attend sessions that are interesting to them and skip those that aren’t. Samuel Thompson, Forbes, 16 Aug. 2022 Travelling west on State Road 18 outside Lafayette, two flags break up the monotony of vast tracts of row crops. Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 20 July 2022 Yet, Neumeier and Miner break up the excessive stream of wastings with with some searing futuristic satire. Duane Byrge, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 July 2022 Clouds will slowly break up later in the afternoon leaving us a partly sunny day. oregonlive, 12 July 2022 See More
Noun
Aside from changing your Facebook relationship status to 'single,' what's the best way to tell people about a breakup? Laura L. Davis, USA TODAY, 7 Sep. 2022 Rumors of the couple's split arose in June after two sources familiar with the situation told The New York Times that the two were getting divorced, adding that many of their close ones were shocked about the breakup. Michelle Lee, Peoplemag, 7 Sep. 2022 Shayk also previously opened up about their breakup, this time in a 2020 interview with British Vogue. Chelsey Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 29 Aug. 2022 Jones did speak up about their breakup in an interview with Voyage LA in 2020. Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 9 Aug. 2022 So how does Pete Davidson—who literally has Kim’s name branded on his chest—feel about the breakup? Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 8 Aug. 2022 The pair's Instagram activity reflects what multiple sources have said about their breakup. Alyssa Bailey, ELLE, 8 June 2022 Meanwhile, for the first time in the show's five-season run, the cast of Selling Sunset sits down for a reunion where plenty of topics are on the agenda; things get really emotional, and Jason and Chrishell talk about their breakup. Ew Staff, EW.com, 6 May 2022 Heard texted Carino in 2017 professing sadness about her breakup with Musk. CBS News, 27 Apr. 2022 Verb
Because why break up on the couch like normal people? Jodi Guglielmi, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2022 Overhead, a large rattan pendant light helps break up the otherwise neutral walls. Maria Sabella, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 Sep. 2022 Before heading the loan company, Stefanowski held key positions for 13 years at GE, which was based in Fairfield in its heyday before moving to Boston and essentially collapsing; GE will break up key parts of the company over the next two years. Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 28 Aug. 2022 Manchester City, which won its first two games, could break up the north London axis at the summit by beating Newcastle on Sunday. Steve Douglas, ajc, 20 Aug. 2022 Instead of having a single webinar running for four hours, break up the event into different segments with parallel tracks that allow students to attend sessions that are interesting to them and skip those that aren’t. Samuel Thompson, Forbes, 16 Aug. 2022 Travelling west on State Road 18 outside Lafayette, two flags break up the monotony of vast tracts of row crops. Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 20 July 2022 Yet, Neumeier and Miner break up the excessive stream of wastings with with some searing futuristic satire. Duane Byrge, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 July 2022 Clouds will slowly break up later in the afternoon leaving us a partly sunny day. oregonlive, 12 July 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
Noun
1794, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 3
Phrases Containing breakup
breaking up
verb
1
as in disbanding
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
- disbanding
- dispersing
- dissolving
- demobilizing
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- joining
- incorporating
- uniting
- banding
- consolidating
- hanging together
2
as in ending
to come to an end the meeting broke up when all the business for the day had been completed Synonyms & Similar Words
- ending
- stopping
- expiring
- breaking off
- winding up
- concluding
- leaving off
- ceasing
- letting up
- halting
- passing
- finishing
- winking (out)
- dying
- biting the dust
- closing
- terminating
- going
- determining
- lapsing
- elapsing
- discontinuing
- stalling
- knocking off
- cutting out
- giving over
- laying off (of)
- breaking down
- quitting
- refraining (from)
- dead-ending
- winding down
- desisting (from)
- packing (up or in)
- conking (out)
- pausing
- petering (out)
- staying
- suspending
- abating
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- hanging on
- continuing
- persisting
- extending
- prolonging
- drawing out
- protracting
3
as in dividing
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
- dividing
- separating
- splitting
- disconnecting
- resolving
- severing
- parting
- decoupling
- dissevering
- divorcing
- unyoking
- breaking down
- disjoining
- pulling
- ramifying
- dissociating
- uncoupling
- sundering
- disassociating
- disjointing
- isolating
- disuniting
- unlinking
- cutting off
- detaching
- dissecting
- decomposing
- subdividing
- fragmentating
- partitioning
- dissolving
- cleaving
- disintegrating
- fractionalizing
- disassembling
- fragmentizing
- fragmenting
- ripping
- tearing
- fractionating
- halving
- bisecting
- quartering
- segmenting
- bifurcating
- trisecting
- breaking
- fracturing
- dichotomizing
- insulating
- segregating
- rending
- unraveling
- rupturing
- rifting
- riving
- disengaging
- sequestering
- disentangling
- untying
- secluding
- untieing
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- joining
- mixing
- combining
- linking
- connecting
- assembling
- coupling
- blending
- uniting
- unifying
- sticking
- mingling
- attaching
- closing
- welding
- binding
- associating
- fastening
- accumulating
- knitting
- fusing
- cementing
- agglutinating
4
as in melting down
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
- melting down
- losing it
- falling apart
- wigging (out)
- flipping (out)
- breaking down
- cracking
- going to pieces
- freaking (out)
- going off the deep end
- choking
- blowing one's cool
5
as in stopping
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
- stopping
- ending
- ceasing
- cutting off
- breaking off
- halting
- laying off
- shutting off
- cutting out
- leaving off
- giving over
- knocking off
- quitting
- putting the kibosh on
- packing (up or in)
- desisting (from)
- having done with
- delaying
- suspending
- dropping
- discontinuing
- breaking
- finishing
- concluding
- holding back
- suspending
- canning
- turning back
- clamping down
- closing (down)
- completing
- calling
- blocking
- reining (in)
- holding
- pausing
- stemming
- checking
- impeding
- ruining
- staying
- deactivating
- hindering
- suppressing
- obstructing
- kiboshing
- braking
- aborting
- detaining
- damming
- stamping
- destroying
- blockading
- killing
- abolishing
- stunting
- scuttling
- dissolving
- arresting
- squashing
- squelching
- demolishing
- annulling
- snuffing
- stanching
- staunching
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- keeping up
- continuing
- running on
- carrying on
- following through (with)
- proceeding
- progressing
- advancing
- driving
- stirring
- actuating
- propelling
- impelling
6
as in disrupting
to cause to separate into pieces usually suddenly or forcibly break up the feta cheese and spread it over the salad Synonyms & Similar Words
- disrupting
- breaking
- fracturing
- reducing
- blowing up
- destroying
- disintegrating
- shattering
- fragmenting
- busting
- splitting
- ruining
- smashing
- riving
- dismembering
- crushing
- grinding
- blasting
- cracking
- exploding
- bursting
- wrecking
- pulverizing
- popping
- detonating
- atomizing
- shivering
- powdering
- chipping
- splintering
- slivering
- imploding
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- fixing
- repairing
- healing
- rebuilding
- reconstructing
- renovating
- patching
- reconditioning
- mending
- doctoring
7
as in laughing
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
- laughing
- giggling
- chuckling
- splitting one's sides
- cracking up
- screaming
- grinning
- smiling
- chortling
- tittering
- snickering
- roaring
- cackling
- hee-hawing
- twittering
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- crying
- weeping
- howling
- sobbing
- bawling
- wailing
- whining
- whimpering
- blubbering
- moaning
- groaning
- sniffling
- sighing
- yowling
- bleating
- squalling
- sniveling
- puling
- snivelling