breakup

[breyk-uhp]

noun

1. disintegration; disruption; dispersal.

2. the ending of a personal, especially a romantic, relationship.

3. (in Alaska and Canada)

   1. the melting and loosening of ice in rivers and harbors during the early spring.

   2. the first day on which such ice is soft or dispersed enough to permit ships to use the waterways.

4. Informal.,  an act or instance of being convulsed with laughter.

5. temporary distortion in a televised picture.

Word History and Origins

Origin of breakup¹

First recorded in 1785–95; noun use of verb phrase break up

Example Sentences

In 2011, after his breakup with Ms. Lange, he wrote: “My myriad girlfriends are all somehow disappointing. My only solace seems to be writing.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

This feature may share the same origin as the NAA and could be its geological counterpart, having formed on the opposite side of the Labrador Sea during the breakup.

Read more on Science Daily

Beating back the government’s breakup efforts unlocked a lot of value.

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Citing murky laws and growing case law, online service HelloPrenup last year added optional clauses to its forms to help couples spell out what happens to embryos in a breakup.

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According to Jesso, he wouldn’t have had it not been for a breakup that left him “the most depressed I’ve ever been in my life, by far.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• breakdown 
• disintegration 
• dissolution 
• divorce 
• separation 
• split 
• termination