disrupt

American  

[dis-ruhpt] / dɪsˈrʌpt /

verb (used with object)

• disrupts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• disrupted,
  past participle,  past
• disrupting
  present participle

1. 

   to cause disorder or turmoil in.

   The news disrupted their conference.

2. to destroy, usually temporarily, the normal continuance or unity of; interrupt.

   Telephone service was disrupted for hours.

3. to break apart.

   to disrupt a connection.

4. Business. to radically change (an industry, business strategy, etc.), as by introducing a new product or service that creates a new market.

   It’s time to disrupt your old business model.

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adjective

1. broken apart; disrupted.

disrupt British  

/ dɪsˈrʌpt /

verb

1. (tr) to throw into turmoil or disorder

2. (tr) to interrupt the progress of (a movement, meeting, etc)

3. to break or split (something) apart

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• disrupter
  noun
• disruption
  noun
• disruptor
  noun
• nondisrupting
  adjective
• undisrupted
  adjective
• nondisruptingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• disrupting
  present
• disrupted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• disrupt
  simple
• disrupts
  simple
• have disrupted
  perfect
• has disrupted
  perfect
• am disrupting
  progressive
• are disrupting
  progressive
• is disrupting
  progressive
• have been disrupting
  perfect progressive
• has been disrupting
  perfect progressive

Past

• disrupted
  simple
• had disrupted
  perfect
• was disrupting
  progressive
• were disrupting
  progressive
• had been disrupting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will disrupt
  simple
• will have disrupted
  perfect
• will be disrupting
  progressive
• will have been disrupting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of disrupt

First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin disruptus, variant of dīruptus “broken apart,” past participle of dīrumpere “to break apart,” from dī- di- ² + rumpere “to break”

Explanation

To disrupt is to interrupt or throw something into disorder. If you don't turn your phone off before a play, it might ring and disrupt the actors and the audience. Disrupt goes back to the Latin root disrumpere, "to break apart." When you disrupt, you break someone's concentration, break up a routine, or break apart a system or order, as when bad weather disrupts the travel plans of people in airports. Even if your headphones keep the music in your ears only, singing out loud can disrupt those around you. A larger interruption would be if a war were to erupt. That would disrupt the peace of an entire region and its people.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

disrupt disrupts disrupted disrupting

Meanwhile, major oil producers have temporarily shut down Gulf of Mexico output ahead of Hurricane Isaias, raising concerns that power outages and flooding could disrupt refinery operations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

The companies are among the survivors of the quest to disrupt aviation using new aircraft designs, electricity and artificial intelligence.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

Experts have also warned that frontier AI models could disrupt the financial system on which the world economy relies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Speaking ahead of the visit, Burnham said the UK and Germany were "joining forces to find, expose and disrupt" threats.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

The Eroica deliberately sought to disrupt what an audience expected to hear in a symphony.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

When Rosales writes about cholos, she disrupts caricatures.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

But he declined to order sweeping changes to its business because he believed consumers’ habits would change as artificial intelligence disrupts traditional search engines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

The Chinese embassy in Washington said the move "seriously disrupts" trade between the two countries and Beijing will act to protect its companies.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

The fungus is responsible for chytridiomycosis, a disease that damages the skin of frogs and toads and disrupts their ability to regulate water, salts, and minerals.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

We trade in our morning books for our afternoon books and then Boy21 says, “They don’t want me to wear my outer-space clothes. They say it disrupts the school day. Do you agree?”

From "Boy21" by Matthew Quick

Diesel supply chains often get disrupted in extreme weather, and diesel generators can be finicky if they have been sitting dormant for long periods.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

They found that obesity had disrupted proteins involved in lipolysis, the process through which stored fat is broken down and made available for energy.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026

Over the last five years, coastal erosion, bluff movement, high tides and landslides have significantly disrupted rail service in San Clemente.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

"If oil flows from the Middle East are disrupted once more, or if there are more attacks on refineries or more refineries shut down, refining margins could move higher," Brooks forecast.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

Nathan carefully tapped his toe on the surface, and multiple ripples disrupted the calm surface and went beyond the reaches of the light and kept going in the darkness.

From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young

Isaias strengthened to a Category 2 hurricane on Thursday as it headed toward the US Gulf Coast, the US National Hurricane Center said, prompting mandatory evacuations and disrupting oil and gas production.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

The attacks are forcing schoolchildren out of classes into shelters, shuttering businesses, and disrupting public transport.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Above the gumline, where oxygen is more plentiful, disrupting AHL signaling favored bacteria linked with better oral health.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026

What is your risk tolerance versus risk capacity — the former being the risk you’re comfortable with versus the latter, which is how much risk your portfolio can handle without disrupting your financial goals?

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 3, 2026

The amount of soot and floating ash from the impact and following fires would blot out the sun, certainly for months, possibly for years, disrupting growing cycles.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

Related Words

• breach
• break into
• obstruct