break down

Verb

break down (third-person singular simple present breaks down, present participle breaking down, simple past broke down, past participle broken down or (informal) broke down)

1. (intransitive, usually, vehicle) To stop functioning.
   • I am afraid my computer will break down if I try to run it at too high a speed.
   • "We love our little diesel trains. They potter up and down. They break down. The C6 overhaul is only a temporary answer. By the time they are replaced, they will be 45 years old.2026 February 18, Paul Clifton, “West of England Line problems laid bare”, in RAIL, number 1055, page 7
2. (intransitive) To unexpectedly collapse, physically or in structure.
3. (transitive) To intentionally demolish; to pull down.
4. (intransitive) To fail, especially socially or for political reasons.
   • Talks broke down between Prime Minister John Doe and the opposition party.
   • Relations broke down between Greece and Turkey.
5. (idiomatic, intransitive) To give in or give up: relent, concede, surrender.
   • Is it worth taking it to a repair shop, or should I just break down and buy a new one?
6. (ergative, figuratively) To render or to become unstable due to stress, to collapse physically or mentally.
   • Near-synonym: come undone
   • She is back to work now, after she broke down the other day.

   Synonyms:

   come undone

7. (ergative, figuratively) To render or to become weak and ineffective.
   • His authority and influence over his coordinates broke down gradually.
   • Hodgson's approach may not illuminate proceedings in Poland and Ukraine but early evidence suggests they will be tough to break down.2012 June 2, Phil McNulty, “England 1-0 Belgium”, in BBC Sport
8. (ergative) To (cause to) decay, to decompose.
   • Leaves and grass will break down into compost faster if you keep them moist.
9. To separate into a number of parts.
   • Near-synonyms: break apart, break up, take apart, tear down, tear up
   • The goods station is a transhipment centre (centre de transbordement) at which loads made up at other centres are broken down and redespatched to destinations in the area.1950 June, N. H. Bousfield, “Angers, a French Provincial Railway Centre”, in Railway Magazine, page 371

   Synonyms:

   break apart, break up, take apart, tear down, tear up

10. (ergative, figuratively) To divide into parts to give more details, to provide a more indepth analysis of.
    • Near-synonym: analyze
    • If you don't understand, ask him to break down the numbers for you.

    Synonyms:

    analyze

11. (ergative) To digest.
    • Near-synonym: catabolize
    • His stomach took a while to break down his food.

    Synonyms:

    catabolize

12. (informal) To bust down or bust a move; to perform energetic, often freestyle or hip-hop moves, frequently during a song’s instrumental break where only drums or bass are playing; see breakdown.