broken-down
Americanadjective
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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
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
When Anna Fleming complained in a TikTok video that Honda had “ghosted” her after promising to replace her broken-down car, an army of amateur consumer advocates flooded Honda with demands for justice.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 24, 2025
People have been evacuated from a broken-down Eurostar train in northern France after waiting nearly four hours for help, passengers have told the BBC.
From BBC • Jul. 6, 2025
There was something incredibly foreboding about the place—massive and silent, adorned with the empty black frames of barred or meshed windows and broken-down metal doors.
From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith
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.
