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.

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verb (used with object)

ruptures, present (3rd person singular) ruptured, past participle, past rupturing present participle

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)

ruptures, present (3rd person singular) ruptured, past participle, past rupturing present participle

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

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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

Derived Forms

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

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has ruptured
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have ruptured
  perfect
• has been rupturing
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• am rupturing
  progressive 1st person singular
• have been rupturing
  perfect progressive
• is rupturing
  progressive 3rd person singular
• ruptures
  singular 3rd person
• are rupturing
  progressive
• rupturing
  participle

Past

• had ruptured
  perfect
• were rupturing
  progressive plural
• ruptured
  participle
• was rupturing
  progressive singular
• ruptured
  simple
• had been rupturing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will rupture
  simple
• will have ruptured
  perfect
• will have been rupturing
  perfect progressive
• will be rupturing
  progressive

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

Pashinyan has insisted he does not want a rupture with Moscow.

From Barron's • Jun. 7, 2026

Several days after the injection, she had to have emergency surgery after showing signs of an ectopic pregnancy rupture.

From Salon • May 26, 2026

“Does it rupture and spill, or does it blow up?” said Craig Covey, the division chief at the Orange County Fire Authority.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 23, 2026

This is a rare condition present at birth where arteries in the brain are clustered tightly together, putting them at high risk of rupture.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

But it was real, I know that much, it was a physical rupture — a cracking-leaking-popping feeling.

From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien

Related Words

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