breakup
breakup Lexical Profile
breakup Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The ending of a romantic relationship, marriage, or close partnership.
"After their sudden breakup, he moved to a new apartment across town."
A division, disintegration, or dissolution of an organization, empire, or unified whole into smaller parts.
"Antitrust regulators ordered the breakup of the telecommunications monopoly into regional companies."
North American The seasonal thawing and cracking of surface ice on rivers, lakes, or seas in the spring.
"Supply barges cannot navigate the northern river until the spring breakup clears the main channel."
Word Nuance & Usage
The closed compound "breakup" (or hyphenated "break-up" in British English) is used exclusively as a noun or attributive modifier (e.g., "a painful breakup"), whereas the two-word form "break up" functions as a phrasal verb (e.g., "they decided to break up").
• Rhymes for breakup
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in the late 18th century as a nominalization of the phrasal verb "break up," combining the Old English verb "brecan" (to shatter or divide) with the adverb "up" denoting completeness.