Break Up (Verb)
Meaning 1
Make a break in; "We interrupt the program for the following messages".
Classification
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing.
Examples
- We're going to break up this long, dull lecture with some interactive activities.
- The teacher chose to break up the term with a short, week-long break in the middle.
- To prevent driver fatigue, it's recommended to break up a long road trip with regular stops.
- The company will break up the workday with a free meal and entertainment for employees.
- The long debate was going to break up into smaller, more focused discussion groups to foster better communication.
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Meaning 2
Close at the end of a session; "The court adjourned".
Classification
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc..
Examples
- The city council will break up at the end of the semester, not meeting again until the new year.
- After resolving the conflict, the board will break up for a five-hour recess.
- The House will break up for a six-week summer vacation in July.
- This committee usually breaks up at lunch to allow time for each senator to vote.
- The session will break up momentarily to allow parliament members to attend the ceremony.
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Meaning 3
Destroy the completeness of a set of related items; "The book dealer would not break the set".
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
Examples
- The store's policy is to sell items individually and will not break up a complete set if a customer requests only one piece.
- The collector was hesitant to let the antique dealer break up the set of vintage ornaments, so she decided to look for another buyer.
- After the family member passed away, the relatives had to break up the set of antiques to divide the estate fairly.
- The owner of the antique shop refused to break up a rare set of baseball cards, hoping a serious collector would come by and pay the full price.
- When making offers, we promise that we would not break up the set of art pieces that the artist specifically intended to be viewed together.
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Meaning 4
Come apart; "the group broke up".
Classification
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming.
Examples
- The marriage started to break up after ten years of constant arguing and financial stress.
- The band managed to release two albums before they finally broke up due to creative differences.
- You should let the two rival groups discuss the matter separately so they don't constantly break up in argument.
- The traveling party had to break up and go their separate ways once the festival was over.
- Their close friendship started to break up after she inadvertently betrayed his trust and shared some of his private stories with a mutual friend.
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Meaning 5
Release ice; "The icebergs and glaciers calve".
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
Examples
- Global warming causes ice caps to break up and melt at an alarming rate.
- Rising ocean temperatures can make polar ice shelves break up and shatter.
- During spring, rivers begin to break up from the melting of winter ice.
- Increased salt levels cause the frozen lakes to break up earlier each year.
- Scientists monitor the polar regions, where they observe icebergs and frozen tundras starting to break up and thaw.
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Meaning 6
Break violently or noisily; smash.
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
Examples
- The vase would break up if it fell from the counter.
- The storm caused the waves to break up against the shore.
- The plate began to break up into shards as it hit the ground.
- The rocks break up under the continuous pounding of the ocean.
- The ship's propeller started to break up from the impact of the underwater collision.
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Meaning 7
Break or cause to break into pieces; "The plate fragmented".
Classification
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc..
Examples
- The impact was so strong that it would break up the entire vehicle into small pieces.
- When you applied too much pressure the wooden table started to break up.
- Excessive heat may cause the delicate glass vase to break up.
- Dropping the granite statue from such a height would surely break it up.
- Applying the wrong technique can cause the fragile crystal to break up.
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Meaning 8
Set or keep apart; "sever a relationship".
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
Examples
- The couple decided to break up after a long argument about their future together.
- Her parents' constant pressure caused her to break up with her boyfriend.
- They had been together since college, but eventually decided it's time to break up and move on.
- After cheating on her, he was too late to apologize and prevent their break up.
- She made the painful decision to break up with him after realizing he was not the right person for her.
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Meaning 9
Separate (substances) into constituent elements or parts.
Classification
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc..
Examples
- Chemists use various methods to break up complex molecules into simpler compounds for further analysis.
- Heat is applied to break up the mixture into its constituent elements, making it easier to identify each one.
- The recycling process involves a series of steps to break up and separate the different materials.
- To analyze the composition of the rock, scientists use various techniques to break up the minerals into smaller components.
- Special enzymes are used to break up the proteins into their basic amino acid chains for further study.
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Meaning 10
Bring the association of to an end or cause to break up; "The decree officially dissolved the marriage"; "the judge dissolved the tobacco company".
Classification
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc..
Examples
- The court's decision will break up the massive corporation into smaller, independent entities.
- The parents encouraged their kids to break up with their toxic friends and surround themselves with positive influences.
- The university decided to break up the large class into smaller, more manageable sections to improve student learning.
- The company's CEO announced plans to break up the struggling department and relocate the employees to other branches.
- As part of the city's revitalization efforts, the mayor proposed a plan to break up the large public housing projects into smaller, privately-owned residences.
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Meaning 11
To cause to separate and go in different directions; "She waved her hand and scattered the crowds".
Classification
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming.
Examples
- The police officer blew his whistle and waved his hands to break up the rowdy crowd that had gathered in the street.
- Strong winds from the storm began to break up the icebergs that had formed in the harbor.
- The teacher stepped in to break up the fight that had started between the two arguing students.
- The activists used their megaphones to break up the opposing protest by drowning out their chants.
- A new traffic light system was implemented to break up the heavy flow of traffic through the narrow intersection.
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Meaning 12
Laugh unrestrainedly.
Classification
Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care.
Examples
- Her news about the impending performance of her favorite comedian made her unable to help but laugh unrestrainedly as she imagined her roommate's attempts to break up the monotony of their tedious daily schedule.
- My mom, notorious for being an easy crier, will break up this tear-jerking atmosphere by inserting an ill-timed but hilarious quote that will suddenly make everyone laugh unrestrainedly.
- Her attempts to break up the chaos that had engulfed the house by turning up her favorite funny video often led to everyone laughing unrestrainedly in a collective release of pent-up emotions.
- She'd look at old photos and try to break up the somber mood by cracking jokes and gradually she'd have everyone else laughing unrestrainedly at their goofy antics.
- His way to break up tension during meetings by interjecting humor almost always resulted in his colleagues erupting into funny, unrestrained laughter that immediately relaxed the atmosphere.
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Meaning 13
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".
Classification
Verbs of political and social activities and events.
Examples
- The couple decided it was best to break up after realizing their core values were no longer aligned.
- We had been friends for years, but ultimately decided to break up due to our increasingly different lifestyles.
- The researchers couldn't agree on the findings, so they decided it was time to break up the team.
- They seemed like the perfect couple, but their constant arguing led them to break up after a few years.
- After college, my best friend and I decided to break up and go our separate ways in pursuit of our individual career goals.
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Hyponyms
- Give The Gate
- Disassociate
- Break With
- Split Up
- Splinter
- Disunify
- Give The Bounce
- Divorce
- Dissociate
- Disunite
- Break
- Disjoint
- Secede
- Break Apart
- Give The Axe
- Break Away
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Meaning 14
Come to an end; "Their marriage dissolved"; "The tobacco monopoly broke up".
Classification
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc..
Examples
- The company will break up into smaller divisions to increase efficiency and productivity.
- Their lengthy business partnership eventually began to break up as they could no longer agree on strategic decisions.
- Years of heavy exploitation will cause the ecosystem to break up and lose its natural balance.
- The lengthy bus strike seemed to break up after authorities intervened and arbitrated a settlement.
- As temperatures rise above freezing point the ice will break up and start to melt rapidly.
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Meaning 15
Suffer a nervous breakdown.
Classification
Verbs of feeling.
Examples
- After years of intense stress, she finally began to break up under the pressure.
- He had been hiding his emotions for so long that he suddenly started to break up during the meeting.
- The constant bullying at school made him break up in tears every day.
- She had been working non-stop for months and eventually began to break up mentally and physically.
- As the argument escalated, she started to break up, unable to cope with the overwhelming emotions.
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Meaning 16
Attack with or as if with a pickaxe of ice or rocky ground, for example; "Pick open the ice".
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
Examples
- The icebreaker vessel began to break up the thick ice layer that was blocking the sea route.
- Miners used pickaxes to break up the rocky ground in search of precious minerals.
- The powerful teeth of the excavator were designed to break up hard ice and compacted snow.
- Archaeologists carefully used chisels to break up the ice encasing the ancient artifacts.
- The strong mechanical arm was specially designed to break up icebergs that posed a threat to navigation.
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Meaning 17
Cause to go into a solution; "The recipe says that we should dissolve a cup of sugar in two cups of water".
Classification
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc..
Examples
- Heat the mixture gently to break up the solid particles into smaller ones that can dissolve.
- Stir the drink to break up the lumps of cocoa powder before adding the sugar.
- The machine uses ultrasonic waves to break up the material and mix it with the liquid more efficiently.
- The whisk is not strong enough to break up all the lumps in this stubborn mixture.
- You need to crush the tablets first to break up the hard outer coating before dissolving them in water.
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Meaning 18
Take apart into its constituent pieces.
Classification
Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing.
Examples
- The engineer decided to break up the complex machine to understand its internal components.
- The firework exploded in the sky and then broke up into colorful sparks.
- The moderator intervened to break up the fight between the two men.
- The researchers decided to break up the DNA molecule to study its genetic structure.
- The landscape gardener worked to break up the compacted soil to improve its drainage.
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Meaning 19
Cause to separate; "break up kidney stones"; "disperse particles".
Classification
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc..
Examples
- The medication was designed to break up blood clots in the lungs.
- A mixture of baking soda and vinegar can help break up stubborn grease stains.
- The ultrasound was used to break up the gallstones and facilitate their passage.
- The proteolytic enzymes in the digestive tract help break up proteins into smaller peptides.
- The treatment aims to break up the mucus buildup in the airways of people with cystic fibrosis.