break up

to break something into pieces

• The police broke up the crowd.
• He broke up the chair for firewood.
• He broke up the concrete block with a hammer.
• Eyewitnesses saw the plane break up in flight.
• I fastened the box tight with a rope so that it wouldn't break up.
• A pick is a long handled tool used for breaking up hard ground surfaces.
• The asteroid broke up into small pieces as it entered Earth's atmosphere.
• At the bus stop, people waited in orderly lines, but as soon as the bus pulled up, the line broke up.
• This means that houses are starting to sink, roads are breaking up and lamp-posts are leaning at crazy angles.
• Each time the comet passes close to the Sun, it loses some of its material. Over time, it will break up and disappear completely.
• No single company should have over 10 billion dollars in assets. Now is the time to require the break-up of excessively large companies, in the same way as and for the same reason that Theodore Roosevelt broke up the trusts and monopolies.
• The United States of America has several divisions. It is first separated into the fifty states. Each state is then broken up into counties or parishes. Each county or parish is divided into towns or townships. These towns or townships contain the villages and cities.
• When the Earth passes through an orbiting stream of debris from a comet that has broken up, what's known as a meteor shower occurs. Meteor showers take place on about the same dates each year.

to close a school for the holidays

• School breaks up in June.
• Our school has broken up for the summer.
• School will soon break up for the summer vacation.
• The college breaks up on Tuesday.

to finish an event (meeting, party, etc)

• The party broke up late.
• Let's break up the party.
• The meeting broke up at four.
• The meeting broke up at five.
• The meeting broke up at seven.
• Some people kept interrupting the speakers, and finally broke up the meeting.
• The meeting will have broken up by the time you arrive there.
• It was around eight last night when the meeting broke up.
• The meeting will have broken up by the time we arrive.
• Most dinner parties break up about eleven o'clock.

to finish relationship

• We broke up.
• We just broke up.
• We should break up.
• We didn't break up.
• I broke up with him.
• I broke up with her.
• I broke up with Tom.
• Tom broke up with me.
• Tom and Mary broke up.
• Mary broke up with me.
• Tom broke up with Mary.
• Don't break up with me.
• Tom broke up with Marie.
• Did you break up with Tom?
• He will break up with her.
• Did you break up with him?
• Did you break up with her?
• I think we should break up.
• I plan to break up with her.
• Tom and Mary might break up.
• Tom and Mary have broken up.
• Are you breaking up with me?
• I'd rather that we break up.
• I know Tom and Mary broke up.
• Tom broke up with Mary today.
• I heard about their break up.
• Are you breaking up with Tom?
• Why did you break up with Tom?
• I thought Tom and Mary broke up.
• Tom wants to break up with Mary.
• Are you're breaking up with Tom?
• Tom and Mary broke up last week.
• Tom broke up with his girlfriend.
• Tom and Mary decided to break up.
• Tom broke up with Mary last week.
• Tom and Nancy broke up last month.
• Did Tom really break up with Mary?
• Guess what? Tom and Mary broke up.
• Tom is going to break up with Mary.
• They broke up after 7 years of marriage.
• I broke up with my girlfriend.
• Why did you break up with him?
• Why did you break up with her?
• She broke up with her boyfriend.
• He broke up with his girlfriend.
• I don't want to break up with you.
• He finally broke up with that woman.
• I wish I'd never broken up with you.
• Tom isn't going to break up with you.
• I never should've broken up with Mary.
• It was a mistake to break up with you.
• I broke up with her yesterday evening.
• Tom doesn't want to break up with Mary.
• I think I'm going to break up with Tom.
• I resolved to break up with her cleanly.
• And shortly after, he broke up with her.
• Please, Tom, you can't break up with me!
• Tom broke up with Mary via text message.
• She plans to break up with her boyfriend.
• Please, Mary, you can't break up with me!

to make a fight end

• The police broke up the fight.
• Tom tried to break up the fight.
• Tom tried to break up the fight between Mary and John.