BREAK DOWN • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Break down

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/breɪk daʊn/ Listen

Break down

verb

Make ineffective. Synonym: crush.

Make a mathematical, chemical, or grammatical analysis of; break down into components or essential features. Synonyms: analyse, analyze, dissect, take apart. "Analyze a sentence" , "Analyze a chemical compound"

Lose control of one's emotions. Synonyms: lose it, snap. "When her baby died, she snapped"

Stop operating or functioning. Synonyms: break, conk out, die, fail, give out, give way, go, go bad. "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"

Fall apart. Synonyms: collapse, crumble, crumple, tumble. "Negotiations broke down"

Cause to fall or collapse.

Separate (substances) into constituent elements or parts. Synonyms: break up, decompose.

Collapse due to fatigue, an illness, or a sudden attack. Synonym: collapse.

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"Break down" Quotes from Famous Books

... anything happened to him, what then?" Mrs. Dibbott's eyes were bright with inquiry. "And suppose you break down, what about Elsie?" ...

— The Rapids • Alan Sullivan

... gone," said the Abbess, "to provide some little refreshment. But it will have little savour to those who dwell in the world; for I, at least, cannot dispense with the rules to which I am vowed, because it is the will of wicked men to break down the sanctuary in which they ...

— The Abbot • Sir Walter Scott

... Neither could bear to face the truth that henceforth their courses lay apart, and that if the sister's life were spared, it could only be at the sacrifice of expatriation for many years, in lands where, well or ill, the brother had no call. Nor would Lucilla break down. It was due to her husband not to let him think she suffered too much in resigning home for him; and true to her innate hatred of agitation, she guarded herself from realizing anything, and though perfectly kind and respectful to Honora, ...

— Hopes and Fears - scenes from the life of a spinster • Charlotte M. Yonge

... his possibilities, as he awakens into a consciousness of his powers and capabilities, he laughs at the old despondent, pessimistic ideas, and discards them like a worn-out garment. Man on the Mental Plane of consciousness is like a huge elephant who knows not his own strength. He could break down barriers and assert himself over nearly any condition or environment, but in his ignorance of his real condition and power he may be mastered by a puny driver, or frightened by the rustling of a piece ...

— A Series of Lessons in Raja Yoga • Yogi Ramacharaka

... him to look after the babies, and he promised her he would. And then she just lay holding his hand till she died. He seemed dazed-like when they told him she were gone, and just went straight out without a word. No one ever saw young Dick break down after that. He's got ...

— The Obstacle Race • Ethel M. Dell

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