to break up
968
2.6
- phrasal verb
- /breɪk ʌp/
- Informal
- She broke up with the assistant with whom she was having an affair.
- break up a relationship
- break up with his wife
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Watch on YouTubeSo her and my dad broke up when I was very young.
- So her and my dad broke up when I was very young.
- OK, I think we are going to break up this very weekend.
- It was when Grace breaks up with you, it is cut throat.
- Is that moment in a movie when the lovers break up, when all seems lost?
- Most relationships don't break up because of one incident.
- And I remember when my first marriage broke up and I was changing career.
- They completely forget all the reasons they wanted to break up in the first place.
- Kylie, how would you feel if you and Anna broke up and about Judy's well-being?
- You know, it could break up your, break up your marriage.
- I know even like before we broke up, they're like, she doesn't post it.
- With the courage you need to break up, leave.
- And, you know, they broke up, she survived her cancer.
Examples
-
They argued and broke up.
-
Well, I came to Europe to sing with my band, but we broke up in Rome before we ever even booked a show.
-
OK, I think we are going to break up this very weekend.
-
Why did you guys break up?
-
When Lane asked me what was wrong, I said: "I just broke up with my boyfriend."
Fiction book (1991) -
Why'd you guys break up three weeks ago today?
-
When people break up, there's the thing that they tell each other.
-
I have strong feelings for Owen, but I can't date him, because if we break up, there will be tension between us.
-
Moraine wanted to break up with Favio the night their windows were shot out.
Fiction book (1992) -
I never expected them to break up after so many years together.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To go away from a place, person, or group
∞
1.0
To stop an activity or end a habit
580
2.3
End a relationship or go separate ways
459
3.4
To end a romantic relationship with someone
440
4.1
End a relationship with someone or something in a clear, final way
432
5.1
To end a romantic relationship suddenly and without care
321
2.9
To move apart or stop being together
243
2.9
To separate and move in different directions after being together
165
2.7
To end a close relationship and go separate ways
128
3.2
To stop something suddenly before it is finished, for example a talk or relationship
69
4.1
To officially end an organization, agreement, or relationship
55
5.8
To end a relationship or connection completely by stopping all contact
28
3.9
To stop being together or working with someone and go in different directions
16
6.6
To stop depending on someone or something and become independent
9
3.9
Stop being together and take different paths in life
3
4.6
To end a relationship or connection with someone
1
7.4
To suddenly end someone's job or a relationship, often without warning
To end a relationship with a boyfriend or girlfriend
Suddenly stop seeing or talking to someone
End someone's job or relationship suddenly and without warning
Antonyms
How Permanent
962
2.9
321
2.9
- Informal
968
2.6
28
3.9
543
1.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
break + up
The meaning 'to interrupt or bring a pause' is directly derivable from combining 'break' (to stop or interrupt) with the particle 'up', which commonly adds a sense of separation/completion; this verb+particle composition follows a standard and predictable English pattern. Even though 'up' lacks a dictionary entry here, its usual contribution to meaning makes the expression readily inferable by a B1 learner who knows the constituents.
Etymology
Break up paints a simple picture: break (to snap apart) and up (completely), like a rope between two people being cut. So the phrase means 'to end a relationship'.