break it up
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"I think that in the near future, they are unlikely to break it up."
From Barron's ● Jan. 9, 2026
Lou Gerstner was the first outsider to take the helm at IBM, the storied firm that once looked so dominant in computer mainframes that the Justice Department spent foolish years trying to break it up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 29, 2025
Collagen is a large molecule so companies have now started to break it up into smaller pieces - collagen peptides - otherwise known as hydrolysed collagen.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2025
When their sister, Mary, tried to break it up, she “nearly had her coronet knocked flying by the fractious pair.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2023
Strauss started to move in to break it up, but Nemur stopped him.
From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes
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.
