heartbreak
Americannoun
-
great sorrow, grief, or anguish.
noun
-
intense and overwhelming grief, esp through disappointment in love
Etymology
Origin of heartbreak
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Though last year’s Final Four run ended in bitter heartbreak, Kirstie is more optimistic about UCLA’s chances this year.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2026
In Birgitta Trotzig’s novella, a young woman’s toughness in the face of poverty and heartbreak sets her apart from her village peers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
“This time, I wasn’t 17 years old, going through my first heartbreak, crying at the piano and a song just flies out. I had to sharpen my songwriting skills and my singing skills,” Rodrigo said.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2026
The single Nightingale Lane is named after the scene of her first heartbreak, on a sleepy street near Clapham.
From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026
It was like I’d been hit by three successive waves of heartbreak, each one bigger than the last.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.