noun · informal
breakup
/ˈbreɪkʌp/BREAK·up
Band 5-6speakingtask2
the end of a romantic relationship
Examples
“She was devastated after the breakup.”
“They had an amicable breakup and stayed friends.”
“Breakups can seriously affect a teen's mental health.”
Band 8 sentence
“After the breakup, both partners took time to reflect and eventually rebuilt their social circles.”
Collocations
- go through a breakup
- a messy breakup
- breakup with someone
Word family
break up phrasal verbbreaking up verb-ing
Common mistakes
divorce (for a dating couple)→breakup
to breakup (one word as verb)→to break up (phrasal verb) / breakup (noun)
Say it for a higher band
5split→6separate→7+breakup
Synonyms
split
Easily confused
divorce
“They decided to divorce after ten years of marriage.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In Family & Relationships
Learn it with its set