broken-down
Americanadjective
-
shattered or collapsed, as with age; infirm.
-
having given way with use or age; out of working order.
a broken-down chair.
adjective
-
worn out, as by age or long use; dilapidated
a broken-down fence
-
not in working order
a broken-down tractor
-
physically or mentally ill
Etymology
Origin of broken-down
First recorded in 1810–20
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.
Did you realize that the staff leader in games started last year, behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto, was that broken-down fighter Clayton Kershaw?
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 22, 2026
A van driver who crashed into a broken-down car in a smart motorway's fast lane has been found guilty of causing death by careless driving.
From BBC • Feb. 18, 2026
Nominated seven times for an Academy Award, Duvall won lead actor honors in 1983 for his role as Mac Sledge, a broken-down country singer in the film “Tender Mercies.”
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 16, 2026
He pushed constitutional reforms aimed at preventing any future slide into authoritarian rule, and to overhaul a "completely broken-down" system of public administration.
From Barron's • Feb. 13, 2026
Margo Roth Spiegelman, whose stories of epic adventures would blow through school like a summer storm: an old guy living in a broken-down house in Hot Coffee, Mississippi, taught Margo how to play the guitar.
From "Paper Towns" by John Green
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.
