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Phrase(s): break up
1. Lit. [for something] to fall apart; to be broken to pieces. (Typically said of a ship breaking up on rocks.) • In the greatest storm of the century, the ship broke up on the reef. • It broke up and sank. 2. Go to break up (with someone). 3. [for married persons] to divorce. • After many years of bickering, they finally broke up. 4. [for a marriage] to dissolve in divorce. • Their marriage finally broke up. 5. to begin laughing very hard. • The comedian told a particularly good joke, and the audience broke up. • I always break up when I hear her sing. She is so bad!, Phrase(s): break something up
1. Lit. to destroy something. • The storm broke the docks up on the lake. • The police broke up the gambling ring. 2. Fig. to put an end to something. • The police broke the fight up. • Walter’s parents broke up the party at three in the morning., Phrase(s): break something up (into something)
to break something into smaller pieces. • We broke the crackers up into much smaller pieces. • Please break up the crackers into smaller pieces if you want to feed the ducks., Phrase(s): break up (with someone)
to end a romantic relationship with someone. • Tom broke up with Mary and started dating Lisa. • We broke up in March, after an argument., Phrase(s): break someone up
to cause a person to laugh, perhaps at an inappropriate time. • John told a joke that really broke Mary up. • The comedian’s job was to break up the audience by telling jokes.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
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1. Divide into many pieces; disintegrate. For example, Now break up the head of garlic into separate cloves. [Mid-1700s] 2. Interrupt the continuity of something, as in A short walk will break up the long morning. 3. Also, break it up. Scatter, disperse, as in The crowd broke up as soon as they reached the streets. [Late 1400s] This phrase is Also used as an imperative, as in "Break it up!" shouted the police officer. [c. 1930] 4. Bring or come to an end, as in His gambling was bound to break up their marriage. 5. Also, break someone up. Burst into or cause one to burst into an expression of feeling, such as laughter or tears. For example, His jokes always break me up, or That touching eulogy broke us all up, or I looked at her and just broke up. The precise meaning depends on the context. This sense grew out of a usage from the early 1800s that meant "upset" or ‘‘disturb." [Colloquial; early 1800s]
American Heritage Idioms