break up
"break-up" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“break up” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To break or separate into pieces.
Corpus desk
Index EN-break-up · break up · English
break up · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "B" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | break up |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “break up” in English
Rare enough to double-check
break up is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 12 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for break up in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is break up, spelled B-R-E-A-K- -U-P.
Definition
- 1To break or separate into pieces.
- 2To break or separate into pieces; to disintegrate or come apart.
- 3To upset greatly; to cause great emotional disturbance or unhappiness in.
- 4To end a (usually romantic or sexual) relationship.
- 5To end a (usually romantic or sexual) relationship with each other.
- 6To dissolve; to part.
- 7Of a school, to close for the holidays at the end of term.
- 8Of a conversation, to cease to be understandable because of a bad connection; of a signal, to deteriorate.
- 9To stop a fight; to separate people who are fighting.
- 10To become disorganised.
- 11To cut or take to pieces for scrap.
- 12To be or cause to be overcome with laughter.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how break up appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Break up the cheese and put it in the salad.
It broke up when it hit the ground.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.