Definition of "breakup" []

• The act or an instance of breaking up, as a division, dispersal, or disintegration. (noun)
• The discontinuance of a relationship, as a marriage or a friendship. (noun)
• The cracking and shifting of ice in rivers or harbors during the spring. (noun)
• A loss of control or composure. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "He has a song called "Flirted With You All My Life," which he described as his breakup song with death, the song about flirting with death and then deciding death, I'm not ready."
• "I'm just saying that they exist so I can say that the breakup is far from a surprise, and in some ways it feels like a relief - not because I don't care for her, but because it has not * felt* like a relationship in quite some time, so now at least the cognitive dissonance of calling it something it's not no longer exists."
• "She called the breakup amicable and said that they planned to continue raising their two young children together."