1
as in to disband
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to stop
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 to divide
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 to crack
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 to cease
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 to disrupt
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 to laugh
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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as in split
the act or process of a whole separating into two or more parts or pieces
the breakup of the Soviet Union and the collapse of communism pretty much signaled the end of the Cold War
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of break up
Nick Lentz, CBS News, 25 Apr. 2026
Pari Kim and Tina Zhu Xi Caruso from Love on the Spectrum season three have broken up after a year of dating.
—Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 25 Apr. 2026
Amy McDaniel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Apr. 2026
Enter Masses, who tied for the FBS lead with 18 pass breakups and added five interceptions in his lone season with the Golden Bears.
—Sam Warren, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for break up
Verb
Rolder also broke up three passes and secured an interception and a fumble recovery during the 2025 season, the university's website said.
—Nick Lentz, CBS News, 25 Apr. 2026
Pari Kim and Tina Zhu Xi Caruso from Love on the Spectrum season three have broken up after a year of dating.
—Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 25 Apr. 2026
Noun
After the breakup, Horner walked nearly 20 miles to Reba’s house.
—Amy McDaniel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Apr. 2026
Enter Masses, who tied for the FBS lead with 18 pass breakups and added five interceptions in his lone season with the Golden Bears.
—Sam Warren, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for break up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for break up
Verb
-
After the Ronettes disbanded, Ross continued to release music solo.—
Hattie Lindert,
Pitchfork,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The group, however, eventually disbanded because many of its members enlisted in the Union Army.—
Mia Cathell,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Quin Snyder’s Towns wrinkle stalled the Knicks briefly, then stopped working.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2026
-
The workers get ordered to start jobs, stop jobs, ignore jobs and are other things that turn them into ping pong balls, with the Butleys and the del Valles as the paddles.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Every single section can be divided into a packing cube.—
Samantha Leal,
Travel + Leisure,
29 Apr. 2026
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The case has also divided the agriculture industry.—
Christiana Freitag,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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But as the ball swung around the perimeter, opportunities arose for the likes of Dosunmu and McDaniels to crack the paint off the bounce.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
24 Apr. 2026
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The physicality ramped up early in the second period when the B’s fourth line flexed their muscle and cracked Lyon.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Hollis then began posting occasional pictures of Pino from his Facebook page onto her own Facebook page, despite a judge’s order to cease.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
27 Apr. 2026
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Updates slowed after the original creators left the project, and new releases ceased entirely around 2007.—
Andrew Cunningham,
ArsTechnica,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The United Nations Development Programme reports that higher energy prices, disrupted food systems, and economic slowdowns triggered by the war could push up to thirty-two million people globally into poverty.—
Sudarsan Raghavan,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 2026
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Ahead of them, Joe Willock (white) was in position to defend a short corner and Jacob Murphy (orange) played a hybrid role to help disrupt Gabriel, before protecting the area near the penalty spot and also keeping an eye out for late runners.—
Ahmed Walid,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Read that sentence aloud and try not to laugh.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
25 Apr. 2026
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When Daikin Park’s jumbotron showed exactly that, Chisholm could only laugh at himself.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The work is part of a larger MnDOT project to resurface I-35W and either repair or replace bridges along the freeway between Cliff Road and the I-35E/I-35W split.—
Kristi Miller,
Twin Cities,
25 Apr. 2026
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Corporate earnings and a split between hardware and software stocks also caught our attention.—
Morgan Chittum,
CNBC,
25 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Break up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/break%20up. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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