ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun
( -s )
Etymology: break up
1. : a disruption or dissolution into component parts : an ending as an effective entity
the breakup of the empire
the breakup of a political party
the breakup of a marriage
2. : division into smaller units
the breakup of the large estates
3. : the breaking, melting, and loosening of ice in streams and harbors in the spring
4. : decomposition , disintegration
5. : an excavation upward to the arch level made in tunneling from bottom drifts to provide a new face