split up

present singular third person splits up · participle present splitting up

1. intransitiveTo be divided into smaller groups or separate individuals, especially to go in different directions.

   For this activity, everyone needs to split up into pairs.

   1 more example

   The soldiers split up into smaller squadrons to search the building.

2. intransitiveTo cease to be in a relationship or marriage.

   After she left to go travelling, my girlfriend and I split up.

   1 more example

   Corinne Krepel-Bernatt and her then-husband, Adam, were in their 40s, together for half their lives, parents to two young kids, when they realized they were great friends but not in love. They split up in 2013, but that didn't stop them from remaining friends or devoted parents – a hard-fought outcome she encourages all parents to work toward.

   2017 July 5, Katrina Clarke, “Divorce selfies, conscious uncoupling and the rise of the amicable divorce”, in CBC News, archived from the original on 04 Dec 2023

   Synonyms: separate, split, break up

3. transitiveTo separate two or more people.

   The brothers never behaved in class when they were together, so we had to split them up for the exam.

4. transitiveTo divide into smaller parts.

   Let's split the project up into bite-sized tasks.

   Synonyms: split, break up, break down

1. not comparableDivided or separated.
2. not comparableobsoleteslangOf a person: having long legs.

   He should preferably be tall, weighty, well split up in the legs (especially from the hip-joint to the knee), neatly turned at the knee and ankle joints […]

   1913, S. A. Mussabini, Charles Ranson, The Complete Athletic Trainer, page 17