Break Down
[v] collapse due to fatigue, an illness, or a sudden attack
[v] separate into constituent elements or parts, as of chemical substances
[v] 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"
[v] 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"
[v] make ineffective; "Martin Luther King tried to break down racial discrimination"
[v] cause to fall or collapse
[v] lose control of one's emotions; "When she heard that she had not passed the exam, she lost it completely"
[v] fall apart; also used metaphorically; "Negociations broke down"
Related Information
Synonyms
analyse, analyze, break, break up, collapse, collapse, conk out, crumble, crumple, crush, decompose, die, dissect, fail, give out, give way, go, go bad, lose it, take apart, tumble
Related Terms
afflict, aggrieve, alphabetize, analyze, anatomize, anguish, arrange, assay, assort, bawl, beat down, bend, blow, blow down, blubber, boohoo, break, break up, bring down, bring low, bring to tears, bring to terms, bulldoze, burn down, burn out, burst into