1
: an act or instance of breaking up
2
: the breaking, melting, and loosening of ice in the spring
broke up; broken up; breaking up; breaks up
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 Synonyms
Examples of breakup in a Sentence
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
Recent Examples on the Web
Corey Buhay, Outside Online, 7 Nov. 2024
The leader in the sector, Club name DuPont , was rallying more than 6% after a strong earnings report and raised guide as well as a narrowed timeline of its breakup into three companies.
—Jeff Marks, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2024
Justin Curto, Vulture, 11 Nov. 2024
This is largely due to their habitats being broken up and increased human presence.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 7 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for breakup 
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Noun
The time of breakup is considered the end of winter and the beginning of spring, and avid bettors use all kinds of homespun algorithms to predict the time of breakup, incorporating such data as annual snowfall, temperature patterns, and even train schedules.
—Corey Buhay, Outside Online, 7 Nov. 2024
The leader in the sector, Club name DuPont , was rallying more than 6% after a strong earnings report and raised guide as well as a narrowed timeline of its breakup into three companies.
—Jeff Marks, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2024
Verb
Then comes breaking up anyway, only to get back together a few months later.
—Justin Curto, Vulture, 11 Nov. 2024
This is largely due to their habitats being broken up and increased human presence.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 7 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for breakup
Articles Related to breakup
Dictionary Entries Near breakup
Cite this Entry
“Breakup.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/breakup. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
breakup
1 of 2 noun
break·up
ˈbrā-ˌkəp 
: an act or an instance of breaking up
break up
2 of 2 verb(ˈ)brā-ˈkəp
1
: to separate into parts
enzymes help break up protein molecules
2
: to bring or come to an end
the police broke up the demonstration
the party began to break up
3
: to end a romance
they dated for a while but broke up
4
: to go or cause to go into a fit of laughter
that joke always breaks me up
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