Definitions for break down

Definitions for (verb) break down

Main entry: break down, collapse

Definition: collapse due to fatigue, an illness, or a sudden attack


Main entry: decompose, break down, break up

Definition: separate (substances) into constituent elements or parts


Main entry: break, break down, die, conk out, go, go bad, give out, give way, fail

Definition: stop operating or functioning

Usage: 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


Main entry: analyse, analyze, dissect, break down, take apart

Definition: make a mathematical, chemical, or grammatical analysis of; break down into components or essential features

Usage: analyze a specimen; analyze a sentence; analyze a chemical compound


Main entry: break down, crush

Definition: make ineffective

Usage: Martin Luther King tried to break down racial discrimination


Main entry: break down

Definition: cause to fall or collapse


Main entry: break down, snap, lose it

Definition: lose control of one's emotions

Usage: When she heard that she had not passed the exam, she lost it completely; When her baby died, she snapped


Main entry: collapse, break down, crumble, crumple, tumble

Definition: fall apart

Usage: the building crumbled after the explosion; Negotiations broke down


Visual thesaurus for break down