break down

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. break it down informal.
   1. stop it
   2. don't expect me to believe that; come off it

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

Example Sentences

The pyruvate enters the cells of the body, and the scan shows the rate at which it is broken down -- or metabolised -- into a molecule called lactate.

From Science Daily

On his day, he can be devastating and it might be a moment of magic from him that makes the difference here, and breaks down a stubborn Palace side.

From BBC

He breaks down why you’re not a jazz musician, and one of his points is that you don’t improvise.

From Los Angeles Times

A new Northwestern University study points to the role of gut microbes, tiny living organisms in our digestive system that help break down food and produce energy.

From Science Daily

I had my script and I had all my notes and I had all the scenes broken down and everything.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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