breakup
Americannoun
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disintegration; disruption; dispersal.
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the ending of a personal, especially a romantic, relationship.
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(in Alaska and Canada)
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the melting and loosening of ice in rivers and harbors during the early spring.
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the first day on which such ice is soft or dispersed enough to permit ships to use the waterways.
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Informal. an act or instance of being convulsed with laughter.
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temporary distortion in a televised picture.
Etymology
Origin of breakup
First recorded in 1785–95; noun use of verb phrase break up
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
No one going through a breakup, for instance, has ever felt better after being told, “There are plenty of fish in the sea.”
From MarketWatch
After a difficult year and a breakup, Vicioso wanted to marry her love of flowers with community building.
From Los Angeles Times
“A breakup isn’t at all likely here, even if the government wins,” said Daniel Francis, an antitrust expert at NYU School of Law.
Live Nation trial: The Justice Department aims to force a breakup of Live Nation and Ticketmaster in a trial that begins today in Manhattan federal court.
When these relationships end, female subordinates’ earnings drop by roughly 18% the year after the breakup, with losses persisting for at least four years.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
