split up

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split up (third-person singular simple present splits up, present participle splitting up, simple past and past participle split up)

1. (intransitive, idiomatic, Of a group of people) Cease to be together, break apart from the group.

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

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

2. (transitive) separate, disassociate, cause to come apart.

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

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