break down

Học thuật
Thân thiện
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

Từ đồng nghĩa

Từ trái nghĩa

Từ gần giống

Từ chứa "break down"

Từ có nhắc đến "break down"