broken-down

American  

[broh-kuhn-doun] / ˈbroʊ kənˈdaʊn /

adjective

1. shattered or collapsed, as with age; infirm.

2. having given way with use or age; out of working order.

   a broken-down chair.

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broken-down British  

adjective

1. worn out, as by age or long use; dilapidated

   a broken-down fence

2. not in working order

   a broken-down tractor

3. physically or mentally ill

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Etymology

Origin of broken-down

First recorded in 1810–20

Example Sentences

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

There was the Picasso of late-19th-century realism; the Picasso of angular, broken-down Cubist shapes; the Picasso of playfully deformed portraits.

From The Wall Street Journal

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

Why trade away Reaves in the prime of his career and keep a broken-down LeBron James? 2025-2026 will probably be his last season.

From Los Angeles Times

These are not akin to the crude barracks used to house the Mexican guest workers known as braceros decades ago, nor are they the broken-down trailers associated with abuses of the H-2A program.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• battered
• decrepit
• ramshackle
• run down