nervous breakdown

American  

noun

nervous breakdowns plural

1. (not in technical use) any disabling mental disorder requiring treatment.

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nervous breakdown British  

noun

1. any mental illness not primarily of organic origin in which the patient ceases to function properly, often accompanied by severely impaired concentration, anxiety, insomnia, and lack of self-esteem; used esp of episodes of depression

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• nervous breakdowns
  plural

Etymology

Origin of nervous breakdown

An Americanism dating back to 1900–05

Example Sentences

In my mid 60s, I found myself divorced and on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026

The court heard details of the defendant's mental health issues, including a nervous breakdown in the 1990s.

From BBC • Jan. 20, 2026

It cost him £27m in lost revenue and prompted a "nervous breakdown" among publishers, he said, but it paid off and in 2016 the company returned to profit.

From BBC • Dec. 4, 2025

When a nervous breakdown resulted in hospitalization, the author found she could no longer read her own life.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 1, 2025

She called her adviser at NYU, told him she’d had a nervous breakdown, took off the rest of the semester.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri