break up
— phrasal verb with break uk/breɪk/us/breɪk/verb broke, broken
(END RELATIONSHIP)
B1 If a marriage breaks up or two people in a romantic relationship break up, their marriage or their relationship ends:
Jenny and George have broken up.
She's just broken up with her boyfriend.
More examples
- I was consoling Liz on having broken up with her boyfriend.
- Their marriage broke up as a result of long separations.
- She had a string of lovers before her marriage finally broke up.
- He got into serious debt after his marriage broke up.
- She met her second husband not long after her first marriage broke up.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Relationships: ending & divorce
- a parting of the ways idiom
- affiliation order
- annul
- break-up
- child support
- Dear John letter
- give sb the heave-ho idiom
- give sb the push idiom
- go off with sb
- grow
- grow apart
- heave-ho
- push
- split
- split up
- throw
- throw sb over
- tug of love
- visitation
- walk
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(STOP CLASSES)
B1 UK When schools and colleges, or the teachers and students who go to them break up, their classes stop and the holidays start :
We broke up for the holidays in June.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Schools in general
- assembly
- blackboard
- blackboard jungle
- bursar
- chalkboard
- common room
- fag
- foundation
- let out
- long vacation
- matron
- midterm
- parent-teacher association
- pass
- playtime
- primary
- reception
- seat
- trimester
- year
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(STOP BEING HEARD)
If someone who is talking on a mobile phone is breaking up, their voice can no longer be heard clearly.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Communications - by telephone
- aeroplane mode
- airplane mode
- bell
- break
- cold-calling
- conference call
- connection
- cut
- dial tone
- dialling code
- give sb a buzz idiom
- hash
- hold
- ICE (number)
- put sb through
- put sth down 1
- telecommuting
- tinkle
- top-up card
- transfer
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