phrasal verb · neutral

break up

/breɪk ʌp/BREAK UP

speakingtask2

1) to end a relationship; 2) to separate into pieces or smaller groups; 3) to disperse or end (a meeting)

Examples

“They decided to break up after five years together.”

“The committee broke up into smaller working groups.”

“The lecture broke up when the fire alarm went off.”

Band 8 sentence

“The research team broke up into three specialised units to tackle the project from different angles.”

Collocations

  • break up + relationship (e.g. break up with someone)
  • break up + into (e.g. break up into groups)

Word family

breakup nounbroke up verb (past)

Common mistakes

breaked up→broke up

break up with to someone→break up with someone

they breaked up the team→they broke up the team

Say it for a higher band

5separate→6split up→7+break up

Synonyms

split up

separate

Easily confused

split up

“After the argument the band split up and went their separate ways.”

Related words

break free (from)break downbreak throughbreak the chain (of)break inbreak a habitbreak the lawbreak out

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