What does break up mean?

break up means "to cause to separate and go in different directions". That is the primary sense; the word has 19 in total, listed in full on this page.

What is another word for break up?

Close synonyms include disperse, dissipate, dispel, scatter, separate. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is break up a common word?

break up is banded "Core" — among the few thousand words that carry most english. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

break up — meaning, pronunciation and 19 definitions

verb

19 sensesAn action, occurrence or state of being.

1.
to cause to separate and go in different directions
“She waved her hand and scattered the crowds”
Synonymsdisperse dissipate dispel scatter
Broaderseparate
Narrowerdisband
2.
discontinue an association or relation; go different ways
“The business partners broke over a tax question”
“The couple separated after 25 years of marriage”
“My friend and I split up”
Synonymsseparate part split up split break
Narrowergive the axe disunify disassociate break with divorce secede break
3.
come apart
“the group broke up”
Broaderseparate
Narrowerdisband
4.
break violently or noisily; smash
Synonymscrash break apart
Broaderdisintegrate
5.
make a break in
“We interrupt the program for the following messages”
Synonymsinterrupt disrupt cut off
Broaderbreak
Narrowercut punctuate break put away pause chime in burst in on heckle interject jam
6.
cause to go into a solution
“The recipe says that we should dissolve a cup of sugar in two cups of water”
Synonymsdissolve resolve
Broaderchange integrity
Narrowermelt cut
7.
suffer a nervous breakdown
Synonymscrack up crack crock up collapse
Broadersuffer
8.
take apart into its constituent pieces
Synonymsdisassemble dismantle take apart break apart
Broaderdestroy
Narrowerstrike
9.
destroy the completeness of a set of related items
“The book dealer would not break the set”
Synonymsbreak
Broaderchange
10.
set or keep apart
“sever a relationship”
Synonymssever
Broaderseparate
11.
attack with or as if with a pickaxe of ice or rocky ground, for example
“Pick open the ice”
Synonymspick
Broaderpierce
12.
release ice
“The icebergs and glaciers calve”
Synonymscalve
Broaderseparate
13.
close at the end of a session
“The court adjourned”
Synonymsadjourn recess
Broaderend
14.
bring the association of to an end or cause to break up
“The decree officially dissolved the marriage”
“the judge dissolved the tobacco company”
Synonymsdissolve
Broaderend
15.
come to an end
“Their marriage dissolved”
“The tobacco monopoly broke up”
Synonymsdissolve
Broaderend
16.
break or cause to break into pieces
“The plate fragmented”
Synonymsfragment fragmentize fragmentise
Broaderbreak
Narroweratomize grind pound sunder splinter rag crumb brecciate crush grate
17.
cause to separate
“break up kidney stones”
“disperse particles”
Synonymsdisperse scatter
Broaderchange integrity
Narrowerbackscatter
18.
separate (substances) into constituent elements or parts
Synonymsdecompose break down
Broaderseparate
Narrowerdigest dissociate crack
chemistry
19.
laugh unrestrainedly
Synonymscrack up
Broaderlaugh

Questions about break up

What does break up mean?: break up means "to cause to separate and go in different directions". That is the primary sense; the word has 19 in total, listed in full on this page.
What is another word for break up?: Close synonyms include disperse, dissipate, dispel, scatter, separate. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.
Is break up a common word?: break up is banded "Core" — among the few thousand words that carry most english. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for break up come from Princeton University’s WordNet. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.

verb

19 sensesAn action, occurrence or state of being.

1.
to cause to separate and go in different directions
“She waved her hand and scattered the crowds”
Synonymsdisperse dissipate dispel scatter
Broaderseparate
Narrowerdisband
2.
discontinue an association or relation; go different ways
“The business partners broke over a tax question”
“The couple separated after 25 years of marriage”
“My friend and I split up”
Synonymsseparate part split up split break
Narrowergive the axe disunify disassociate break with divorce secede break
3.
come apart
“the group broke up”
Broaderseparate
Narrowerdisband
4.
break violently or noisily; smash
Synonymscrash break apart
Broaderdisintegrate
5.
make a break in
“We interrupt the program for the following messages”
Synonymsinterrupt disrupt cut off
Broaderbreak
Narrowercut punctuate break put away pause chime in burst in on heckle interject jam
6.
cause to go into a solution
“The recipe says that we should dissolve a cup of sugar in two cups of water”
Synonymsdissolve resolve
Broaderchange integrity
Narrowermelt cut
7.
suffer a nervous breakdown
Synonymscrack up crack crock up collapse
Broadersuffer
8.
take apart into its constituent pieces
Synonymsdisassemble dismantle take apart break apart
Broaderdestroy
Narrowerstrike
9.
destroy the completeness of a set of related items
“The book dealer would not break the set”
Synonymsbreak
Broaderchange
10.
set or keep apart
“sever a relationship”
Synonymssever
Broaderseparate
11.
attack with or as if with a pickaxe of ice or rocky ground, for example
“Pick open the ice”
Synonymspick
Broaderpierce
12.
release ice
“The icebergs and glaciers calve”
Synonymscalve
Broaderseparate
13.
close at the end of a session
“The court adjourned”
Synonymsadjourn recess
Broaderend
14.
bring the association of to an end or cause to break up
“The decree officially dissolved the marriage”
“the judge dissolved the tobacco company”
Synonymsdissolve
Broaderend
15.
come to an end
“Their marriage dissolved”
“The tobacco monopoly broke up”
Synonymsdissolve
Broaderend
16.
break or cause to break into pieces
“The plate fragmented”
Synonymsfragment fragmentize fragmentise
Broaderbreak
Narroweratomize grind pound sunder splinter rag crumb brecciate crush grate
17.
cause to separate
“break up kidney stones”
“disperse particles”
Synonymsdisperse scatter
Broaderchange integrity
Narrowerbackscatter
18.
separate (substances) into constituent elements or parts
Synonymsdecompose break down
Broaderseparate
Narrowerdigest dissociate crack
chemistry
19.
laugh unrestrainedly
Synonymscrack up
Broaderlaugh

Questions about break up

What does break up mean?: break up means "to cause to separate and go in different directions". That is the primary sense; the word has 19 in total, listed in full on this page.
What is another word for break up?: Close synonyms include disperse, dissipate, dispel, scatter, separate. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.
Is break up a common word?: break up is banded "Core" — among the few thousand words that carry most english. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for break up come from Princeton University’s WordNet. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.

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break up

verb

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