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break up

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: break up

1
 v
break or cause to break into pieces
2
 v
discontinue an association or relation; go different ways
3
 v
make a break in
4
 v
cause to go into a solution
5
 v
set or keep apart
6
 v
laugh unrestrainedly
7
 v
suffer a nervous breakdown
FULL DEFINITIONS OF: break up
1

v break or cause to break into pieces

Synonyms:
fragment, fragmentise, fragmentize
Types:
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atomise, atomize
break up into small particles
bray, comminute, crunch, grind, mash
reduce to small pieces or particles by pounding or abrading
pound
break down and crush by beating, as with a pestle
sunder
break apart or in two, using violence
sliver, splinter
break up into splinters or slivers
rag
break into lumps before sorting
crumb
break into crumbs
brecciate
break into breccia
crush
break into small pieces
grate, grind
make a grating or grinding sound by rubbing together
gnash
grind together, of teeth
pulp
reduce to pulp
pestle
grind, mash or pulverize in a mortar
mill
grind with a mill
bruise
break up into small pieces for food preparation
chew, jaw, manducate, masticate
chew (food); to bite and grind with the teeth
Type of:
break, come apart, fall apart, separate, split up
become separated into pieces or fragments

v come apart

“the group broke up”
Types:
disband, dissolve
stop functioning or cohering as a unit
Type of:
part, separate, split
go one's own way; move apart

v take apart into its constituent pieces

Synonyms:
break apart, disassemble, dismantle, take apart
Antonyms:
assemble, piece, put together, set up, tack, tack together
create by putting components or members together
Type of:
destroy, destruct
do away with, cause the destruction or undoing of

v separate (substances) into constituent elements or parts

Synonyms:
break down, decompose
Types:
digest
soften or disintegrate by means of chemical action, heat, or moisture
dissociate
to undergo a reversible or temporary breakdown of a molecule into simpler molecules or atoms
crack
reduce (petroleum) to a simpler compound by cracking
Type of:
separate
divide into components or constituents

v cause to separate

“break up kidney stones”
Synonyms:
disperse, scatter
Types:
backscatter
scatter (radiation) by the atoms of the medium through which it passes
Type of:
change integrity
change in physical make-up

v to cause to separate and go in different directions

Synonyms:
dispel, disperse, dissipate, scatter
Types:
disband
cause to break up or cease to function
Type of:
divide, separate
make a division or separation

v break violently or noisily; smash;

Synonyms:
break apart, crash
crash
cause to crash
Type of:
disintegrate
break into parts or components or lose cohesion or unity

v attack with or as if with a pickaxe of ice or rocky ground, for example

Synonyms:
pick
Type of:
pierce
cut or make a way through

v release ice

Synonyms:
calve
Type of:
divide, part, separate
come apart
2

v discontinue an association or relation; go different ways

Synonyms:
break, part, separate, split, split up
Types:
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give the axe, give the bounce, give the gate
terminate a relationship abruptly
break apart, disunify
break up or separate
disassociate, disjoint, dissociate, disunite, divorce
part; cease or break association with
break with
end a relationship
divorce, split up
get a divorce; formally terminate a marriage
break away, secede, splinter
withdraw from an organization or communion
break, break away
interrupt a continued activity

v bring the association of to an end or cause to break up

Synonyms:
dissolve
dismiss, dissolve
declare void
Type of:
end, terminate
bring to an end or halt

v come to an end

“The tobacco monopoly broke up”
Synonyms:
dissolve
Type of:
end, terminate
bring to an end or halt
3

v make a break in

Synonyms:
cut off, disrupt, interrupt
Types:
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cut, cut off
cease, stop
punctuate
interrupt periodically
break
interrupt the flow of current in
put aside, put away
turn away from and put aside, perhaps temporarily
break, intermit, pause
cease an action temporarily
barge in, break in, butt in, chime in, chisel in, cut in, put in
break into a conversation
burst in on, burst upon
spring suddenly
heckle
challenge aggressively
come in, inject, interject, interpose, put in, throw in
to insert between other elements
block, jam
interfere with or prevent the reception of signals
stop, stop over
interrupt a trip
take off, take time off
take time off from work; stop working temporarily
disrupt, interrupt
interfere in someone else's activity
breathe, catch one's breath, rest, take a breather
take a short break from one's activities in order to relax
take five
take a break for five minutes
take ten
take a ten minute break
barrage jam
jam an entire frequency spectrum
point jam
jam a narrow band of frequencies
spot jam
jam a single frequency
blanket jam
jam a broad spectrum of frequencies to affect all communications in the area except for directional antenna communications
call
make a stop in a harbour
lay over, stop over
interrupt a journey temporarily, e.g., overnight
Type of:
break, break off, discontinue, stop
prevent completion

v close at the end of a session

Synonyms:
adjourn, recess
Type of:
cease, end, finish, stop, terminate
have an end, in a temporal, spatial, or quantitative sense; either spatial or metaphorical
4

v cause to go into a solution

Synonyms:
dissolve, resolve
Types:
show 4 types...
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melt, melt down, run
reduce or cause to be reduced from a solid to a liquid state, usually by heating
cut
dissolve by breaking down the fat of
fuse
make liquid or plastic by heating
render, try
melt (fat or lard) in order to separate out impurities
Type of:
change integrity
change in physical make-up
5

v set or keep apart

Synonyms:
sever
discerp, lop, sever
cut off from a whole
Type of:
disunite, divide, part, separate
force, take, or pull apart

v destroy the completeness of a set of related items

Synonyms:
break
break
exchange for smaller units of money
Type of:
alter, change, modify
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
6

v laugh unrestrainedly

Synonyms:
crack up
Type of:
express joy, express mirth, laugh
produce laughter
7

v suffer a nervous breakdown

Synonyms:
collapse, crack, crack up, crock up
Type of:
get, have, suffer, sustain
undergo (as of injuries and illnesses)
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