break apart

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Definition
  1. Verb (transitive & intransitive):
    • To separate into pieces or parts, often violently or with force: The core meaning involves the action of something dividing or fragmenting.
    • To disintegrate or disunify, especially of a group or entity: Used to describe the collapse of a cohesive structure, organization, or relationship.
Usage Examples
  • Verb:
    • The old ship began to break apart in the storm. (It started to separate into pieces due to the violent weather.)
    • The coalition started to break apart over internal disagreements. (The unified group began to disintegrate because of conflicts within it.)
    • Scientists can break apart the atom. (They can separate the atom into its constituent particles.)
Advanced Usage
  • "to break something apart": To actively cause something to separate into pieces or components.
    • The mechanic had to break the engine apart to find the problem. (The mechanic had to disassemble the engine into its pieces.)
  • Used to describe emotional or social fragmentation.
    • The scandal threatened to break the family apart. (The scandal risked causing the family to disunify.)
Variants and Related Words
  • Break up (phrasal verb): Often similar, but can imply a less violent separation or an end (e.g., a relationship).
  • Disintegrate (verb): To lose cohesion and break into small parts.
  • Fragment (verb): To break or cause to break into fragments.
Synonyms
  • Shatter: To break suddenly and violently into pieces.
  • Split: To break or cause to break forcibly into parts.
  • Disunite: To cause to become separated or no longer united.
Related Phrasal Verbs
  • Fall apart: To break into pieces, often on its own, or to fail. (e.g., / )
  • Take apart: To disassemble something into its pieces, often deliberately. (e.g., )
Related Idioms
  • Break apart at the seams: To be in a state of collapse or failure. (Implies a structure is failing completely.)
    • After the CEO resigned, the company was breaking apart at the seams. (The company was experiencing a complete collapse.)
Verb
  1. break up or separate
    • The country is disunifying
    • Yugoslavia broke apart after 1989
  2. break violently or noisily; smash;
  3. take apart into its constituent pieces

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