breakdown
Americannoun
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breakdowns
plural
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a breaking down, wearing out, or sudden loss of ability to function efficiently, as of a machine.
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a loss of mental or physical health; collapse.
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an analysis or classification of something; division into parts, categories, processes, etc.
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Chemistry.
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Electricity. an electric discharge passing through faulty insulation or other material used to separate circuits or passing between electrodes in a vacuum or gas-filled tube.
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a noisy, lively folk dance.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of breakdown
First recorded in 1825–35; noun use of verb phrase break down
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.
See Examples For:
Morningstar analyst Luke Yang told MarketWatch there wasn’t one single factor gripping the market on Friday, as investors seemed to be digesting a broad breakdown of faith in the AI trade this week.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
"This layer is where the breakdown of cellulose and other natural polymers, such as cutin - a plant-based polyester - takes place."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
Despite investment over the past decade to boost the chances of pupils from these areas, "when you look at the breakdown by school, it's often the most disadvantaged schools that lack resources".
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
A regional breakdown showed that exports to the European Union surged 25.3% from a year earlier, accelerating from a 6.6% rise in August.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
Austria-Hungary, threatened with a complete breakdown of order as people in the cities starved and rioted, signed an armistice agreement on November 3.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
The Department of Pesticide Regulation in late 2025 unveiled searchable county and statewide data breakdowns for regulatory actions taken by agricultural commissioners from the start of 2020 through the end of June 2025.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
Diplomats flying to New York on Monday for the United Nations General Assembly were treated to hours-long delays and cancellations owing to air-traffic equipment breakdowns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
The 24-year-old is still learning how to manage the anomaly, which allows her to continue running when one of the tendons is torn but may also make her more susceptible to breakdowns.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
The remarks followed the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s bid in July to rescind its requirement for companies to file annual reports detailing breakdowns of employees’ race and sex.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Under the stress of trench warfare, some soldiers seemed to suffer nervous breakdowns, a condition that became known as shell shock.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
