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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of break up
Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 18 Mar. 2025
Trump's Justice Department still wants to break up Google, continuing a push that started under President Biden.
—Tim Baysinger, Axios, 11 Mar. 2025
Daniel Mendelsohn, New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2025
Become despondent over a breakup with her boyfrend?
—Gloria Casas, Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for break up
Verb
However, much of the dialogue is humorous, punchy and sharp, breaking up some of the heavier and shocking scenes and allowing the audience to lean in as all of the Jaspers’ dirty laundry is laid bare.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 18 Mar. 2025
Trump's Justice Department still wants to break up Google, continuing a push that started under President Biden.
—Tim Baysinger, Axios, 11 Mar. 2025
Noun
As the cycle proceeds toward the inevitable breakup—triggered, perhaps, by Lesbia’s dalliances during the year that Catullus was away working for Memmius—the poems of recrimination and spite, often eye-poppingly obscene, predominate.
—Daniel Mendelsohn, New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2025
Become despondent over a breakup with her boyfrend?
—Gloria Casas, Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for break up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for break up
Verb
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The Youngbloods would release a pair of live albums, and two more studio albums, before disbanding in 1972.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
17 Mar. 2025
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McMahon did acknowledge this week that Congress would have to be involved in disbanding the department.—
April Rubin,
Axios,
13 Mar. 2025
Verb
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There’s nothing to stop this being made available to other OEMs.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes,
23 Mar. 2025
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The park also provides convenient shuttle buses to transport guests throughout the park, which stop just outside the lodge.—
Sophie Mendel,
Travel + Leisure,
23 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The new retrospective is divided into seven chapters that showcase different thematic or formal aspects of Abercrombie’s career, including the miniatures and still lifes that are often overlooked.—
Jeremy Lybarger,
ARTnews.com,
26 Mar. 2025
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What stood out the most about these containers is its tri-compartment feature that inherently divides it up into a bento-box style container—clearly ideal for including three different foods for meal prepping.—
Stephanie Osmanski,
Better Homes & Gardens,
25 Mar. 2025
Verb
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House sparrows prefer to be near humans, so place a birdhouse away from the house and avoid feeding smaller seeds like millet, cracked corn, and milo, which sparrows love.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
2 Apr. 2025
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More on the Trump administration A united conservative front on Trump’s immigration purge is beginning to crack over the administration’s aggressive, sometimes slapdash tactics.—
Natasha Frost,
New York Times,
2 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Yellow’s bankruptcy journey has lasted roughly 20 months, with the century-old less-than-truckload (LTL) company ceasing operations July 30, 2023.—
Glenn Taylor,
Sourcing Journal,
1 Apr. 2025
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If Jun-no can’t turn things around quickly the company may cease to exist.—
Joan MacDonald,
Forbes.com,
29 Mar. 2025
Verb
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DDoS Threats Cybercriminals threaten Distributed Denial of Service attacks to disrupt personal websites unless payment is made.—
Alex Vakulov,
Forbes.com,
29 Mar. 2025
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Yes, but: A much more straightforward way to disrupt the vaccine market would be to simply cancel government contracts with manufacturers.—
Caitlin Owens,
Axios,
28 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Bean could be heard laughing at him from inside the classroom, the affidavits state.—
Lina Ruiz,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
22 Mar. 2025
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With plummeting stocks, recalls and vandalism on his plate at Tesla, Elon Musk is not laughing.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
20 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Trump last year won Sauk — split between Democratic-leaning areas closer to Madison and a more conservative rural northwest — by 626 votes after Democrat Joe Biden won the county by 615 votes in 2020.—
Thomas Beaumont,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Mar. 2025
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That split has hit many communities in the country as the brick-and-mortar retail industry suffers while housing shortages worsen.—
Don Stacom,
Hartford Courant,
28 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Break up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/break%20up. Accessed 6 Apr. 2025.
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