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
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2
as in ending
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 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
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4
as in losing it
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 stopping
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 disrupting
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 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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of breaking up
Terrion Arnold #0 of the Detroit Lions celebrates after breaking up a 4th down pass in the end zone against the Seattle Seahawks during the fourth quarter at Ford Field on September 30, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan.
—
Michael Gallagher, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Sep. 2025
Chapter One opens with Ocean, a Korean space pilot, breaking up with her boyfriend at a Korean BBQ restaurant.
—Elaine U. Cho
august 5, Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2025
After breaking up in 2000, the Jesus Lizard reunited in 2008 to play a brief tour, including a set at Pitchfork Music Festival the following year.
—Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 5 Aug. 2025
Michael Gallagher, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Sep. 2025
Chapter One opens with Ocean, a Korean space pilot, breaking up with her boyfriend at a Korean BBQ restaurant.
—Elaine U. Cho
august 5, Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2025
After breaking up in 2000, the Jesus Lizard reunited in 2008 to play a brief tour, including a set at Pitchfork Music Festival the following year.
—Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for breaking up
Verb
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Companies that committed to DEI efforts and made public statements are now pulling back from those policies, editing their websites, disbanding employee resource groups, and quietly abandoning inclusive hiring goals.—
C200,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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The Turtles would release two more albums — 1968’s The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands and 1969’s Turtle Soup — before disbanding in 1970.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The number of ski visits at domestic ski resorts climbed by nearly 13% in the year ending April 30 to 26 million, according to the China Ski Industry White Paper.—
Russell Flannery,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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Last season, McCarthy was on the sideline with a season-ending meniscus injury suffered during preseason.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The solution is to rejuvenate your plants every two to three years by digging and dividing the clump.—
Rita Pelczar,
Better Homes & Gardens,
5 Sep. 2025
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The main way to do that is by selling their tickets in virtually every state, rather than dividing up the country into different competing territories.—
Nathaniel Meyersohn,
CNN Money,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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To my surprise, Gary Friedman, the CEO and visionary behind the brand, was in the restaurant, casually moving between tables and greeting guests before graciously stopping at ours.—
Erica Wertheim Zohar,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
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One video was a loop showing the moment of impact in slow-motion, stopping before blood is seen.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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However, the president’s criticism of mail-in ballots could risk disrupting the inroads Republicans made with voters last cycle, with the party spending millions promoting mail-in ballots ahead of the 2024 election.—
Hailey Bullis,
The Washington Examiner,
11 Sep. 2025
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The limitations placed on these researchers is disrupting NASA’s work and could stymie the careers of younger Chinese researchers who came to the US to advance their scientific work, as well as benefit the space agency through their findings, the sources said.—
Andrew Freedman,
CNN Money,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Xi was also pictured laughing with Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in China.—
Yeo Boon Ping,
CNBC,
11 Sep. 2025
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One of the producers actually fell off his chair laughing.—
Victoria Edel,
PEOPLE,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The objections that stopped earlier attempts are now dissolving.—
Sandy Peng,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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The study suggests that lying on the right side was the most effective at dissolving pills.—
Alyssa Hui-Anderson,
Verywell Health,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The expiring boost, implemented in Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act under former President Joe Biden, applies to 22 million of the 24 million low- and middle-income Americans with plans through the ACA marketplace.—
Ramsey Touchberry,
The Washington Examiner,
11 Sep. 2025
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Republicans have proposed several short-term funding options running from November to January, but Democrats want Republicans to negotiate with them, especially on extending expiring health care subsidies.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Breaking up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breaking%20up. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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