breakup
Americannoun
-
breakups
plural
-
disintegration; disruption; dispersal.
-
the ending of a personal, especially a romantic, relationship.
-
(in Alaska and Canada)
-
the melting and loosening of ice in rivers and harbors during the early spring.
-
the first day on which such ice is soft or dispersed enough to permit ships to use the waterways.
-
-
Informal. an act or instance of being convulsed with laughter.
-
temporary distortion in a televised picture.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of breakup
First recorded in 1785–95; noun use of verb phrase break up
Explanation
A breakup is when something comes apart or separates into pieces, like the breakup of a comet that eventually produces a meteor shower we can see from Earth. The breakup of ice on a lake in spring, melting and cracking into separate chunks, means it's no longer safe to walk on. When a relationship ends that's a breakup too: "After the breakup, they moved out and got separate apartments, and now they share custody of their cat." You can also use this word for the split between other entities, like the breakup of a church into different sects or the breakup of a treaty between several countries.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The amount it is seeking includes a $600 million breakup fee that Kroger previously agreed to pay but didn’t after the deal was dropped.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
A source close to the couple confirmed the breakup, People first reported on Wednesday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
Most people land in a psychiatrist’s office because something happened: a loss, a breakup, the end of a career.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
Guilfoyle’s diplomatic appointment came in the throes of a high-profile breakup.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Another Hudson in New York who dates boys and just had a breakup.
From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
Anhor The Great had so many pass breakups that counting would’ve been a fool’s errand.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
Any musical outfit that’s been around 40 years will have had its ups and downs, pauses and restarts, shake-ups and breakups.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
It should not escape notice that nobody penalized Taylor Swift or Lily Allen for publicizing their breakups.
From Salon ● Apr. 30, 2026
A lot of my friends are getting married, of course, but many of them have also been dealing with heavy personal news: breakups, layoffs and the deaths of family members and friends.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 19, 2026
With me as the worried mother figure who consoled him over bad breakups, and him as the sensitive kid who listened and supported me through my meltdowns.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
