broken up
Americanadjective
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(of a personal or political relationship) having ended; having undergone a breakup.
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emotionally distressed or upset.
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Usually, broken-up. having been broken into smaller pieces.
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.
“So we try to make sure those trips are broken up where we can, and we’re not doing too much of that back and forth.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026
“The same way you wouldn’t want to be broken up with via text, this is difficult news for you to share and for them to hear,” Post says.
From MarketWatch • May 6, 2026
It took another decade, but the Bell system was broken up into the Baby Bells, ushering in a new world of phones not attached to the kitchen wall.
From Barron's • May 2, 2026
The island is broken up into seven sections, and the team must work against the clock and the elements to make sure they have accounted for every puffin.
From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026
I felt a little too old to feel this emotional, so broken up, I had no words to describe the fissure I felt widening inside me—but I also felt like, why?
From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely
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.
