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

Some people carry mutations that disrupt Sorl1, the gene that provides instructions for making SORLA.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026

To be sure, top-tier tech earnings aren’t the only catalyst that could disrupt the calm in the stock market this week.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 19, 2026

"This will fundamentally change the digital economy and disrupt business models."

From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026

The issues threaten to disrupt travel in the New York City area in the months ahead.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

“If I disrupt the magic, can you get it back?”

From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack

Hacking It: As AI disrupts traditional career paths, these college students are skipping corporate internships for San Francisco hacker houses and incubators this summer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

Slaughter disrupts this design and largely eliminates its incentives for bipartisanship.

From Slate ● Jul. 6, 2026

Another "safety net" measure gives the European Commission, in charge of EU trade policy, the power to suspend the pact if the United States fails to meet its commitments or disrupts trade and investment.

From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026

"It threatens the safety of passengers and crew, and disrupts hard-earned holidays."

From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026

We trade in our morning books for our afternoon books and then Boy21 says, “They don’t want me to wear my outer-space clothes. They say it disrupts the school day. Do you agree?”

From "Boy21" by Matthew Quick

Last year, Morgan Stanley says, one-fifth of the buying demand for gold originated with ETFs, however that positive sentiment has been disrupted by the Gulf crisis, and the prospect of rate hikes.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026

Prices had rallied in the early hours to fresh one-month highs, as U.S.-Iranian fighting further disrupted the recovery in supplies that many had anticipated when the two sides agreed to a memorandum of understanding.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026

A number of flights were disrupted on the eve of the World Cup final in New Jersey, while a Yankees-Dodgers baseball game in the Bronx was among several local sporting events to be rained off.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

They also disrupted the activity of other cells involved in inflammation and immune responses.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026

As a final step, Katherine plotted the data in order to give engineers a visual snapshot of the planes disrupted flight.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

"Those intent on disrupting residents, closing off a key thoroughfare connecting communities and intimidating youth workers offer nothing for our community," he said.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

While most cabin fires are quickly extinguished, overheating incidents are now frequently disrupting flights.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

Others have said the World Cup risked disrupting regular viewing patterns.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 16, 2026

As the region sweltered through its latest heatwave, the wildfire -- rare in the north of the country -- quickly spread, disrupting rail and road traffic during a busy holiday travel weekend.

From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 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