break down

verb

1. intr to cease to function; become ineffective

   communications had broken down

2. to yield or cause to yield, esp to strong emotion or tears

   she broke down in anguish

3. tr to crush or destroy
4. intr to have a nervous breakdown
5. to analyse or be subjected to analysis
6. to separate or cause to separate into simpler chemical elements; decompose
7. tr to saw (a large log) into planks
8. break it down informal.
   1. stop it
   2. don't expect me to believe that; come off it

noun

1. an act or instance of breaking down; collapse
2. short for nervous breakdown
3. an analysis or classification of something into its component parts

   he prepared a breakdown of the report

4. the sudden electrical discharge through an insulator or between two electrodes in a vacuum or gas discharge tube
5. electrical engineering the sudden transition, dependent on the bias magnitude, from a high to a low dynamic resistance in a semiconductor device
6. a lively American country dance

Example Sentences

Plaintiffs like Adkins break down these abstractions.

From Slate

“Our mission is to break down the barriers to opportunity, so every pupil has the best life chances,” said a DfE spokesperson.

From BBC

To answer that, it’s helpful to break down the total spending figure.

From BBC

But it turns out this chemical process, in which bacteria, molds or yeasts break down sugar to create simpler compounds, could help alleviate the mounting crisis of food waste.

From Salon

Coco Gauff showed supreme determination to come back from a set and a break down against Zheng Qinwen to win the season-ending WTA Finals.

From BBC

Related Words

• collapse
• crash
• decline
• decrease
• depreciate
• diminish
• dip
• dive
• dwindle
• ease
• go down
• land
• plummet
• plunge
• settle
• sink
• slip
• slump
• stumble
• tumble