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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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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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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2025
Under the Biden administration, the Justice Department sued Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation and asked the court to break up what was described as a monopoly.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 1 Apr. 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
Iron Maiden helped shape the sound of heavy metal decades ago, and while many of its peers from that era have long since broken up or stopped making music, the British rock band is far from done.
—Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2025
Under the Biden administration, the Justice Department sued Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation and asked the court to break up what was described as a monopoly.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 1 Apr. 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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Meanwhile, at the Department of Agriculture, officials disbanded an advisory committee that had been studying the threat of Cronobacter contamination in powdered formula.—
Heather Vogell,
ProPublica,
4 Apr. 2025
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That’s no small shift for a rock act that officially disbanded years ago and hasn’t released brand new material in a long time.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes.com,
3 Apr. 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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Tell her to stop being stingy and pay for her own subscriptions.—
Karen Fratti,
People.com,
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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Crockett made the comments while criticizing Democrats for becoming divided on the issue.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
25 Mar. 2025
Verb
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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
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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
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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While the Inflation Reduction Act’s drug pricing provisions have disrupted seniors’ healthcare, the passage of the EPIC Act represents a critical opportunity to mitigate some of the law’s most harmful consequences and revitalize the nation’s medical innovation pipeline.—
mark gibbons,
Boston Herald,
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 8 Apr. 2025.
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