break down meaning and definition

BREAK DOWN verb

Definition of break down (verb)

1. make ineffective
   • "Martin Luther King tried to break down racial discrimination"
   • synonyms: crush
2. 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"
   • synonyms: analyse, analyze, dissect, take apart
   • antonym: synthesise
3. 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"
   • synonyms: lose it, snap
4. 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"
   • synonyms: break, conk out, die, fail, give out, give way, go, go bad
5. fall apart
   • "the building crumbled after the explosion"; "Negotiations broke down"
   • synonyms: collapse, crumble, crumple, tumble
6. cause to fall or collapse
7. separate (substances) into constituent elements or parts
   • synonyms: break up, decompose
8. collapse due to fatigue, an illness, or a sudden attack
   • synonyms: collapse