disrupt

American  

[dis-ruhpt] / dɪsˈrʌpt /

verb (used with object)

• disrupts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• disrupted,
  past participle,  past
• disrupting
  present participle

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

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Participles

• disrupting
  present
• disrupted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• disrupt
  simple
• disrupts
  simple
• have disrupted
  perfect
• has disrupted
  perfect
• am disrupting
  progressive
• are disrupting
  progressive
• is disrupting
  progressive
• have been disrupting
  perfect progressive
• has been disrupting
  perfect progressive

Past

• disrupted
  simple
• had disrupted
  perfect
• was disrupting
  progressive
• were disrupting
  progressive
• had been disrupting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will disrupt
  simple
• will have disrupted
  perfect
• will be disrupting
  progressive
• will have been disrupting
  perfect progressive

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

See Examples For:

disrupt disrupts disrupted disrupting

Port closures and shipping delays could still disrupt refined-product exports, with U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

The market is also watching Hurricane Isaias in the Gulf, which is expected to shut in some natural gas production but could also disrupt LNG exports.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Speaking ahead of the visit, Burnham said the UK and Germany were "joining forces to find, expose and disrupt" threats.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

The companies are among the survivors of the quest to disrupt aviation using new aircraft designs, electricity and artificial intelligence.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

In séances, holding hands gives participants a feeling of safety, while ensuring they can’t disrupt planned tricks, and darkness creates sensitivity to sound, motion, and feelings.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

Hundreds of kilometers away – in Denver and along the Canadian border – heavy ashfall darkens the sky, obstructs roads and disrupts power, water supplies and communications.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

When Rosales writes about cholos, she disrupts caricatures.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

“That kind of capability directly disrupts the operational advantage these transnational criminal organizations rely on, and it strengthens our ability to protect both Texas communities and the broader region,” he said in an email.

From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026

But he declined to order sweeping changes to its business because he believed consumers’ habits would change as artificial intelligence disrupts traditional search engines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

But if a mutation disrupts the function of an enzyme, then the normal gene must specify the information to make the normal enzyme.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Isaias has disrupted oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico, as platforms and rigs were evacuated.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

“Cybersecurity has been disrupted, and to an extent, redefined by AI,” said Mark Sasson, co-founder and managing partner at Pinpoint.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Over the last five years, coastal erosion, bluff movement, high tides and landslides have significantly disrupted rail service in San Clemente.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

The anxious spiral can outlast the physical symptoms, because it feeds on itself: worry disrupts thinking, and disrupted thinking produces more worry.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

That sigh and birdsong were the only sounds that disrupted the forest’s quiet.

From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack

The attacks are forcing schoolchildren out of classes into shelters, shuttering businesses, and disrupting public transport.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Also known as spectrum warfare, EW essentially relies on finding or disrupting the frequencies that adversaries are using, or hiding signals from enemy interference.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

What is your risk tolerance versus risk capacity — the former being the risk you’re comfortable with versus the latter, which is how much risk your portfolio can handle without disrupting your financial goals?

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 3, 2026

By heating, stirring, and disrupting gas throughout the CGM, black hole jets can make it harder for that material to cool and fall back toward the galaxy.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026

It’s creating its own wild patterns, disrupting, destroying paths.

From "Paradise on Fire" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Related Words

• breach
• break into
• obstruct