disruption
Americannoun
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forcible separation or division into parts.
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a disrupted condition.
After the coup, the country was in disruption.
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Business. a radical change in an industry, business strategy, etc., especially involving the introduction of a new product or service that creates a new market.
Globalization and the rapid advance of technology are major causes of business disruption.
Other Word Forms
- predisruption noun
Etymology
Origin of disruption
First recorded in 1640–50; from Latin disruptiōn-, stem of disruptiō; equivalent to disrupt + -ion
Explanation
A disruption is a major disturbance, something that changes your plans or interrupts some event or process. A screaming child on an airplane can be a disruption of the passengers' sleep. A break in the action, especially an unplanned and confusing one, is a disruption. A sudden thunderstorm is an unwelcome disruption of an outdoor wedding ceremony, and a flat tire on an elaborate float will probably cause a parade disruption. When you disrupt something, you upset it or mess it up. In Latin disrupt means "broken into pieces," from dis, "apart," and rumpere, "to break."
Vocabulary lists containing disruption
Make a Break for It: Rupt
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"Tinker v. Des Moines": Excerpts from Justice Fortas's Opinion
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State of the Union Address 2016
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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.
OpenAI has done an in-depth study at just what AI disruption means for the jobs market, pushing back at some gloomier forecasts.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
And if even one of those delicate matters falls through, the catastrophic disruption promulgated by the strait’s closure is likely to last indefinitely.
From Slate • Apr. 17, 2026
The company primarily manufactures its cars in China, and faces the same supply-chain disruption risks as other auto makers amid conflict in the Middle East.
From Barron's • Apr. 17, 2026
This position also appears to have been accelerated by the Iran war, which has caused disruption to Saudi Arabia's oil exportation.
From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026
Busy as she was with her nursing career, she also worried about whether she could truly give us the care we needed, especially after the disruption we’d experienced with Shanon.
From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles
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.
