break up

break someone up

to cause a person to laugh, perhaps at an inappropriate time. John told a joke that really broke Mary up. The comedian's job was to break up the audience by telling jokes.

See also: break, up

break something up 

1. Lit. to destroy something. The storm broke the docks up on the lake. The police broke up the gambling ring.

2. Fig. to put an end to something. The police broke the fight up. Walter's parents broke up the party at three in the morning.

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break something up (into something)

to break something into smaller pieces. We broke the crackers up into much smaller pieces. Please break up the crackers into smaller pieces if you want to feed the ducks.

See also: break, up

break up (with someone)

to end a romantic relationship with someone. Tom broke up with Mary and started dating Lisa. We broke up in March, after an argument.

See also: break, up

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break somebody up also break up somebody

to make someone laugh or cry He was the kind of comedian who broke up an audience with perfect accents and extremely funny impressions. Both of their parents died in that car crash, and it breaks me up just to think about it.

See also: break, up