break down

British  

verb

1. (intr) to cease to function; become ineffective

   communications had broken down

2. to yield or cause to yield, esp to strong emotion or tears

   she broke down in anguish

3. (tr) to crush or destroy

4. (intr) to have a nervous breakdown

5. to analyse or be subjected to analysis

6. to separate or cause to separate into simpler chemical elements; decompose

7. (tr) to saw (a large log) into planks

8. informal

   1. stop it

   2. don't expect me to believe that; come off it

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noun

1. an act or instance of breaking down; collapse

2. short for nervous breakdown

3. an analysis or classification of something into its component parts

   he prepared a breakdown of the report

4. the sudden electrical discharge through an insulator or between two electrodes in a vacuum or gas discharge tube

5. electrical engineering the sudden transition, dependent on the bias magnitude, from a high to a low dynamic resistance in a semiconductor device

6. a lively American country dance

break down Idioms  

1. Demolish, destroy, either physically or figuratively, as in The carpenters broke down the partition between the bedrooms , or The governor's speeches broke down the teachers' opposition to school reform . [Late 1300s]

2. Separate into constituent parts, analyze. For example, I insisted that they break down the bill into the separate charges for parts and labor , or The chemist was trying to break down the compound's molecules . [Mid-1800s]

3. Stop functioning, cease to be effective or operable, as in The old dishwasher finally broke down . [Mid-1800s]

4. Become distressed or upset; also, have a physical or mental collapse, as in The funeral was too much for her and she broke down in tears , or After seeing all his work come to nothing, he broke down and had to be treated by a psychiatrist . [Late 1800s]

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Example Sentences

At least 12 states break down program participation by age, and of the 1,670,011 people who are no longer receiving benefits in those states, 776,134, or 46%, were children.

From Salon • Jun. 18, 2026

Here’s a look at how the comments break down and why there’s so much opposition.

From Barron's • Jun. 16, 2026

Over time discarded plastic products – such as water bottles and clingfilm – can break down into microplastics.

From BBC • Jun. 15, 2026

"You can imagine the whole system as a finely branched power grid that becomes increasingly damaged with age: connections break down and currents stall," explains Dr. Maria Ermolaeva, the study's lead author.

From Science Daily • Jun. 11, 2026

He could face an army of monsters, but as soon as Hazel showed him kindness, he wanted to break down and cry.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

• collapse
• crash
• decline
• decrease
• depreciate
• diminish
• dip
• dive
• dwindle
• ease
• go down
• land
• plummet
• plunge
• settle
• sink
• slip
• slump
• stumble
• tumble