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1. The termination or disintegration of a relationship (between persons or nations)
   - dissolution
    
2. Coming apart
   - separation, detachment

1. Cause to separate and go in different directions
   "She waved her hand and broke up the crowds";
   - disperse, dissipate, dispel, scatter
    
2. Discontinue an association or relation; go different ways
   "The couple broke up after 25 years of marriage";
   - separate, part, split up, split, break
    
3. Disband
   "the group broke up"
    
4. Break violently or noisily; smash
   - crash, break apart
    
5. Make a break in
   - interrupt, disrupt, cut off
    
6. Cause to go into a solution
   - dissolve, resolve
    
7. Suffer a nervous breakdown
   - crack up, crack, crock up, collapse
    
8. Take apart into its constituent pieces
   - disassemble, dismantle, take apart, break apart
    
9. Destroy the completeness of a set of related items
   "The book dealer would not break up the set";
   - break
    
10. Set or keep apart
    "break up a relationship";
    - sever
     
11. Hit for example ice or rocky ground) with or as if with a pickaxe
    - pick
     
12. Release ice
    "The icebergs and glaciers break up";
    - calve
     
13. Close at the end of a session
    "The court broke up";
    - adjourn, recess
     
14. Bring the association of to an end or cause to break up
    "The decree officially broke up the marriage";
    - dissolve
     
15. Come to an end
    "The tobacco monopoly broke up";
    - dissolve
     
16. Break or cause to break into pieces
    "The plate broke up";
    - fragment, fragmentize, fragmentise [Brit]
     
17. Make a single entity or group split or become diffuse
    "break up kidney stones";
    - disperse, scatter
     
18. (chemistry) separate (substances) into constituent elements or parts
    - decompose, break down
     
19. Laugh unrestrainedly
    - crack up

Derived forms: breakups, broken up, breaks up, broke up, breaking up

See also: break, split up

Type of: alter, alteration, break, break off, cease, change, change integrity, come apart, conclusion, destroy, destruct, discontinue, disintegrate, disunite, divide, end, ending, express joy, express mirth, fall apart, finish, get, have, laugh, modification, modify, part, pierce, separate, spifflicate [Brit, informal], spiflicate [Brit, informal], split, split up, stop, suffer, sustain, terminate, termination, uncreate [literary]

Encyclopedia: Breakup