breakup
Americannoun
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breakups
plural
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disintegration; disruption; dispersal.
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the ending of a personal, especially a romantic, relationship.
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(in Alaska and Canada)
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the melting and loosening of ice in rivers and harbors during the early spring.
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the first day on which such ice is soft or dispersed enough to permit ships to use the waterways.
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Informal. an act or instance of being convulsed with laughter.
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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:
If the deal fails to close by June 4, Paramount would have to pay Warner Bros. a $7-billion breakup fee.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
The 26-year-old college program manager from India wanted to jump-start her career after a breakup.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
If the deal falls through or is still unsettled by June 2027, it could pay Warner a $7 billion breakup fee or renegotiate the deadline.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
The only dance record on the shortlist, Nia Archives' second album traces the arc of a relationship from the first flush of love to a breakup so ugly that her partner calls the police.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
Kweku asked Ifemelu, tentatively, almost formally; he, too, knew she was suffering from a breakup.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
There are famous breakups, and there are ones that upset the universe’s parasocial order.
From Salon ● Apr. 30, 2026
The two registered almost immediately as domestic partners despite fighting constantly, the court heard, and during one of their breakups Melissa started hooking up with Jesus, a man with whom she became pregnant.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 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
After all, the trajectory of most rock bands follows a similar script—the hungry rise, the overwhelming success, the perils of stardom—followed by breakups, feuds, recoveries and reunions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026
I’d had close friends go through devastating breakups, brought on by small problems left unattended or lapses in communication that led eventually to irreparable rifts.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Definitions 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.
