break down
phrasal verbbreak down
- (of a machine or vehicle) to stop working because of a fault
- The telephone system has broken down.
- We (= the car) broke down on the freeway.
- to fail
- Negotiations between the two sides have broken down.
- Their marriage had broken down irretrievably.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- completely
- irretrievably
- eventually
- …
- to become very bad
- Her health broke down under the pressure of work.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- completely
- irretrievably
- eventually
- …
- to lose control of your feelings and start crying
- He broke down and wept when he heard the news.
- She broke down in tears as she spoke to reporters.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryphrases- break down and cry
- break down in tears
- to divide into parts to be analysed
- Expenditure on the project breaks down as follows: wages $10m, plant $4m, raw materials $5m.
break something down
- to make something fall down, open, etc. by hitting it hard
- Firefighters had to break the door down to reach the people trapped inside.
- to destroy something or make it disappear, especially a particular feeling or attitude that somebody has
- to break down resistance/opposition
- to break down somebody’s reserve/shyness
- Attempts must be made to break down the barriers of fear and hostility which divide the two communities.
- to divide something into parts in order to analyse it or make it easier to do
- Break your expenditure down into bills, food and other.
- Each lesson is broken down into several units.
- to make a substance separate into parts or change into a different form in a chemical process
- Sugar and starch are broken down in the stomach.
related noun breakdown