rupture

American  

[ruhp-cher] / ˈrʌp tʃər /

noun

1. the act of breaking or bursting.

   The flood led to the rupture of the dam.

2. the state of being broken or burst.

   a rupture in the earth's surface.

   Synonyms:

   burst, split, break, fracture

   Antonyms:

   union, seam

3. a breach of harmonious, friendly, or peaceful relations.

4. Pathology. hernia, especially abdominal hernia.

---

verb (used with object)

ruptured, rupturing

1. to break or burst.

   He ruptured a blood vessel.

   Synonyms:

   disrupt, split, fracture

   Antonyms:

   unite

2. to cause a breach of.

   to rupture friendly relations.

3. Pathology. to affect with hernia.

verb (used without object)

ruptured, rupturing

1. to suffer a break or rupture.

rupture British  

/ ˈrʌptʃə /

noun

1. the act of breaking or bursting or the state of being broken or burst

2. a breach of peaceful or friendly relations

3. pathol

   1. the breaking or tearing of a bodily structure or part

   2. another word for hernia

---

verb

1. to break or burst or cause to break or burst

2. to affect or be affected with a rupture or hernia

3. to undergo or cause to undergo a breach in relations or friendship

Other Word Forms

• nonrupturable
  adjective
• nonrupture
  noun
• rupturable
  adjective
• unrupturable
  adjective
• unruptured
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of rupture

1475–85; < Latin ruptūra (noun), equivalent to rupt ( us ) (past participle of rumpere to break) + -ūra -ure

Explanation

A rupture is a break or tear in something that pulls it apart. A rupture can be a literal break, like the one that happens in, say, a gas line, or it can be more figurative, as in a friendship or a business deal. The oil spill was less of a spill than it was a rupture: the line leading to the well was severed, allowing the oil to flow into the ocean. Rupture works as both a noun and a verb. You can rupture the silence by screaming your head off, and any number of events in Star Trek can cause a rupture in the space-time continuum.

Example Sentences

He said he did not believe the UK and the US were in a "moment of rupture" but that "we're certainly at the end of an era, and the era is changing".

From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026

“Wasteman” introduces this odd-couple scenario and then waits for their fragile coexistence to rupture.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026

Navigating that kind of rupture would take poise, flexibility, and tact.

From Slate • Apr. 6, 2026

Myanmar's military has long presented itself as the only force guarding the restive country from rupture and ruin.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

But his dismissive posture toward the rupture in the friendship—what breech and what betrayal?—was obviously only a bravado pose.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Related Words

• burst
• disrupt
• erupt
• fracture
• puncture
• sever
• shatter
• sunder
• tear