English Idioms
Comprehensive resource for understanding and mastering English idioms
Break up
Meaning
The idiom "break up" generally means to end or dissolve a relationship between two people, whether it's romantic, friendly, or professional. It can also refer to ending or dividing something into smaller parts or pieces.
Usage
- John and Sarah have been together for five years, but they recently decided to break up.
- The company is planning to break up its operations into three separate divisions.
- The team has been struggling lately, so the coach has decided to break up their strategy and try something new.
- When I went to the grocery store, I saw that the store was having a sale on frozen meals, so I bought a few to break up my meals for the week.
- My friend's car broke down on the highway, and we had to pull over and call a tow truck to break up the situation.
Roots and History
The idiom "break up" has been in use since at least the 16th century. It originally meant to separate or divide something into smaller parts or pieces, as well as to end or disrupt a relationship or association. Over time, the meaning of the idiom expanded to include breaking things apart physically, as well as ending relationships or associations. The exact origin of the phrase is unclear, but it may have been influenced by the idea of breaking something down into smaller pieces or endings something that was once whole or intact.
Synonyms in English
- Part ways
- Split up
- Separate
- Disband
- Dissolve
Synonyms in other languages
- In Spanish, "romper" means to break something apart or end a relationship, while "separar" means to divide into smaller parts.
- In French, "rompre" also means to break something apart or end a relationship, while "diviser" means to split something up or divide into smaller parts.
- In Italian, "rompere" and "separare" both have similar meanings to the Spanish and French words.
- In German, "abbrechen" means to break something apart or end a relationship, while "teilen" means to split something up or divide into smaller parts.