Definition

1. Verb (intransitive):

   • To cease functioning; to stop working properly: Refers to a machine, vehicle, or system failing to operate.
   • To fail or collapse: Describes the failure of a process, negotiation, or communication.
   • To lose emotional control; to begin crying or become very upset: Refers to a person becoming overwhelmed by emotion.
   • To decompose or disintegrate: Describes something separating into smaller parts or constituent elements.

2. Verb (transitive):

   • To cause to fall or collapse; to destroy a physical barrier.
   • To separate into parts for analysis; to analyze systematically: Used in contexts like chemistry, grammar, or mathematics.
   • To make ineffective; to overcome or remove (a barrier, prejudice, etc.).

Usage Examples

• Intransitive Verb:

  • My car broke down on the highway, so I had to call for a tow truck.
  • The peace talks broke down after neither side would compromise.
  • She broke down in tears when she heard the tragic news.
  • Over time, organic matter breaks down into soil.

• Transitive Verb:

  • The firefighters broke down the door to rescue the family.
  • The scientist will break down the compound to identify its elements.
  • We must break down the stereotypes that divide our community.

Advanced Usage

• "to have a breakdown": to experience a sudden failure of health, especially mental or emotional health.

  • The stress of his job caused him to have a nervous breakdown.

• "a breakdown of something": an analysis or detailed explanation of something by dividing it into parts.

  • The report provides a detailed breakdown of the company's annual expenses.

Variants and Related Words

• Breakdown (noun): a failure to function; a collapse of health; an analysis into parts.

  • There was a complete breakdown in communication between the two departments.

• Broken-down (adjective): in very bad condition; not working.

  • They lived in a broken-down old house at the edge of town.

Synonyms

• Fail / Malfunction: for mechanical failure.
• Collapse / Founder: for the failure of plans or negotiations.
• Weep / Lose control: for emotional collapse.
• Analyze / Decompose: for separating into parts.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Break down into: to be divisible into; to separate into (specific parts or categories).

  • The project breaks down into three main phases.

• Break down barriers: to overcome obstacles, especially social or psychological ones.

  • The program aims to break down barriers to higher education.

Related Idioms

• Break down and (do something): to finally surrender to an impulse to do something, often after resisting.

  • I finally broke down and bought the expensive shoes I had been wanting.

• (Something) doesn't break down easily: is difficult to analyze, understand, or decompose.

  • This complex philosophical text doesn't break down easily for a beginner.

Verb

1. collapse due to fatigue, an illness, or a sudden attack
2. separate (substances) into constituent elements or parts
3. cause to fall or collapse
4. fall apart
   • the building crumbled after the explosion
   • Negotiations broke down
5. stop operating or functioning
   • The engine finally went
   • The car died on the road
   • The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town
   • The coffee maker broke
   • The engine failed on the way to town
   • her eyesight went after the accident
6. lose control of one's emotions
   • When she heard that she had not passed the exam, she lost it completely
   • When her baby died, she snapped
7. make a mathematical, chemical, or grammatical analysis of; break down into components or essential features
   • analyze a specimen
   • analyze a sentence
   • analyze a chemical compound
8. make ineffective
   • Martin Luther King tried to break down racial discrimination