Breakup Definition & Example Sentences

You’ll often hear the word ‘breakup’ used in various ways, but you may be unsure as to what it means exactly.

Breakup

Has many meanings, and today we’ll look at two meanings to make it easier for you to remember the differences between them.

First of all, it means to divide things into separate sections or pieces.

For example

• We are going to break up the exam into several sections.

A synonym (another word with a similar meaning) of the word breakup in this context would be, separate or detach.

Secondly, it means the end of a relationship.

For example

• I want to break up with you because it’s just not working out. You need to be in a romantic relationship with the other person for this meaning to make sense.

A synonym of ‘break up’ in this context would be, terminate or end.

When used in a past tense the word would change to: broke up.

For example

• The teacher broke up the exam into several sections.

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We would do the same for the second meaning

• I broke up with you because it just wasn’t working out.

For a continuous tense, breakup becomes breaking up.

For example

• The teacher is breaking up the exam into several sections.

Again for the second meaning, I’m breaking up with you because it’s just not working out.

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How can you determine which meaning is being referred to?

Well, you have to listen to the context of the conversation. What is the subject of the conversation?

If the subject is not about a romantic relationship and it’s something that can be divided into separate sections or pieces, then this would be the first meaning we discussed.

However, if you have a romantic relationship with another person, and the subject is your relationship with them, then you know the second meaning is applicable.

I hope this article helps you understand the meaning, leave your comments below if this article helped you and don’t forget to check out our other blog posts on our site as well.

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