disrupt

American  

[dis-ruhpt] / dɪsˈrʌpt /

verb (used with object)

1. to cause disorder or turmoil in.

   The news disrupted their conference.

2. to destroy, usually temporarily, the normal continuance or unity of; interrupt.

   Telephone service was disrupted for hours.

3. to break apart.

   to disrupt a connection.

4. Business. to radically change (an industry, business strategy, etc.), as by introducing a new product or service that creates a new market.

   It’s time to disrupt your old business model.

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adjective

1. broken apart; disrupted.

disrupt British  

/ dɪsˈrʌpt /

verb

1. (tr) to throw into turmoil or disorder

2. (tr) to interrupt the progress of (a movement, meeting, etc)

3. to break or split (something) apart

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Other Word Forms

• disrupter noun
• disruption noun
• disruptor noun
• nondisrupting adjective
• nondisruptingly adverb
• undisrupted adjective

Etymology

Origin of disrupt

First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin disruptus, variant of dīruptus “broken apart,” past participle of dīrumpere “to break apart,” from dī- di- ² + rumpere “to break”

Explanation

To disrupt is to interrupt or throw something into disorder. If you don't turn your phone off before a play, it might ring and disrupt the actors and the audience. Disrupt goes back to the Latin root disrumpere, "to break apart." When you disrupt, you break someone's concentration, break up a routine, or break apart a system or order, as when bad weather disrupts the travel plans of people in airports. Even if your headphones keep the music in your ears only, singing out loud can disrupt those around you. A larger interruption would be if a war were to erupt. That would disrupt the peace of an entire region and its people.

Example Sentences

Meta said it was "constantly working to disrupt" coordinated inauthentic behaviour, adding that it had removed more than 200 networks globally and does not allow fake accounts or the artificial boosting of content.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026

Hanging over the sector is the fear of product announcements from Anthropic and rivals, which suggest to some investors that new AI tools may disrupt software business models.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 2026

While tech giants have been laying off workers, they’ve also been investing heavily in technology that could disrupt how people work and socialize.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

DeLorean was part of a long line of upstarts who tried to disrupt the mammoth American auto industry.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

Milo was by nature opposed to any innovation that threatened to disrupt the normal course of affairs.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

Related Words

• breach
• break into
• obstruct