breakup

[ breyk-uhp ]

/ ˈbreɪkˌʌp /

disintegration; disruption; dispersal.

the ending of a personal, especially a romantic, relationship.

(in Alaska and Canada)

the melting and loosening of ice in rivers and harbors during the early spring.
the first day on which such ice is soft or dispersed enough to permit ships to use the waterways.

Informal. an act or instance of being convulsed with laughter.

temporary distortion in a televised picture.

Origin of breakup

First recorded in 1785–95; noun use of verb phrase break up

He had been arrested and briefly jailed in Gary in 2004, after an incident triggered by a breakup with a live-in girlfriend.

Indiana Serial Killer’s Confession Was Just the Start |Michael Daly |October 21, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Both this and your next film, Listen Up Philip, are breakup stories—is it cathartic to act through stories like these?

Is Elisabeth Moss the One 'True Detective' Loves? She Doesn't Deny It. |Melissa Leon |August 12, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Breakup songs are one thing; breakup songs with such a relentless real-life agenda are another.

Robin Thicke’s ‘Paula’ Is What You Shouldn’t Do When You Get Dumped |Andrew Romano |June 26, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
And an inherent contradiction within the Sunni coalition could well trigger a breakup in the longer term.

Iraq Preps for a Civil War Rematch |Jamie Dettmer |June 23, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

For his part, Watkins says the breakup was “blown out of proportion.”

Texas Gun Groups’ Circular Firing Squad |Brandy Zadrozny |May 21, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Somehow or other she'd made it across Willow Brook and the breakup had kept her there.

The Duck-footed Hound |James Arthur Kjelgaard
It was a picture of the breakup of the Outer Federation, and in some ways worse than the other wars.

Victory |Lester del Rey
The next week, Andy finished his job with the Casmans and, just as Jud had predicted, the breakup followed.

Swamp Cat |James Arthur Kjelgaard
What is happening to us all is the breakup of the entire system.

The Secret Places of the Heart |H. G. Wells
They hadn't said much—because they had liked Rakhal—when the breakup came.

The Door Through Space |Marion Zimmer Bradley