What does break down mean?

Definitions for break down
break down

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word break down.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. break down, crushverb

    make ineffective

    "Martin Luther King tried to break down racial discrimination"

  2. analyze, analyse, break down, dissect, take apartverb

    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"

  3. break down, lose it, snapverb

    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"

  4. fail, go bad, give way, die, give out, conk out, go, break, break downverb

    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"

  5. crumble, crumple, tumble, break down, collapseverb

    fall apart

    "the building crumbled after the explosion"; "Negotiations broke down"

  6. break downverb

    cause to fall or collapse

  7. decompose, break up, break downverb

    separate (substances) into constituent elements or parts

  8. break down, collapseverb

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

Wiktionary

  1. break downverb

    to fail, to cease to function

  2. break downverb

    to render or to become unstable due to stress, to collapse physically or mentally

  3. break downverb

    to render or to become weak and ineffective

  4. break downverb

    (to cause) to decay, to decompose

  5. break downverb

    to divide into parts to give more details, to provide a more indepth analysis of

  6. break downverb

    to digest

ChatGPT

  1. break down

    Break down is a verb phrase that typically means to separate something into its basic elements for further understanding or analysis. It can also refer to the process of something failing or collapsing, either physically (like a machine malfunctioning) or emotionally (such as a person succumbing to stress or grief). Additionally, it can denote the natural decomposition or degradation of a substance.

Suggested Resources

  1. break down

    Song lyrics by break down -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by break down on the Lyrics.com website.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of break down in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of break down in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of break down in a Sentence

  1. Jeff Goldblum:

    National Geographic has a knack for developing smart, immersive narratives that expand our understanding of the world around us in creative and entertaining ways. Curiosity is a fundamental human trait ; ‘ The Curiosity of Jeff Goldblum ’ puts me in the driver’s seat, guiding viewers on a mind-blowing adventure where we break down the unexpectedly complex science behind seemingly basic things. last year, I did guest host those three episodes of ‘ Explore, ’ and of course we all know National Geographic is widely known for their unique ability to expand our knowledge … with immersive and entertaining narratives. But what I did n’t know until my experience last year was what a great partnership and working bunch it is.

  2. Jamie Court:

    California's oil refiners are the only industry in America that make a fortune when their factories break down.

  3. Gravis Marketing President Doug Kaplan:

    It’s a hard message to break down. ‘Make America great’ is a hard thing to tear apart, what her goal is, is to show that what Trump’s saying ‘Make America Great Again’ means make America great for some people, not everyone. … Her message is inclusive not exclusive.

  4. Mark Schickman:

    She's really claiming that she can be in the rough and tumble at the highest level, so she can't break down too easily.

  5. Jeff Goldblum:

    I don’t know anything about what I’m talking about. But let’s utter the word ‘entropy’ and ‘systems’ and how things break down, before the butterfly comes out of the chrysalis, the caterpillar has some convulsions, chaotic convulsions. But it’s not death, necessarily. It’s the onset of transformation.


Translations for break down

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"break down." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/break+down>.

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    a textile machine for weaving yarn into a textile
    A render
    B embellish
    C loom
    D efface

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