1. The act of disrupting an established order so it fails to continue
   "his warning came after the breakdown of talks in London";
   - dislocation
    
2. A cessation of normal operation
   "there was a power breakdown";
   - equipment failure
    
3. A mental or physical breakdown
   "He suffered a breakdown after months of overwork and stress";
   - crack-up [informal]
    
4. An analysis into mutually exclusive categories
   "The market research included a breakdown of consumers by age and income";
   - partitioning
    
5. (biology) the process of decay caused by bacterial or fungal action
   "The breakdown of fallen leaves enriches the soil";
   - decomposition, rot, rotting, putrefaction, biodegradation
    
6. (chemistry) separation of a substance into two or more substances that may differ from each other and from the original substance
   "The breakdown reaction of water into hydrogen and oxygen requires electricity";
   - decomposition, decomposition reaction, chemical decomposition reaction

1. Stop operating or functioning
   "The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town";
   - fail, go bad, give way, die, give out, conk out [informal], go, break, pack up [Brit, informal], give up the ghost [informal]
    
2. Fall apart
   "Negotiations broke down";
   - crumble, crumple, tumble, collapse
    
3. Cause to fall or collapse
   "The wrecking ball broke down the old building"
    
4. Make ineffective
   "Martin Luther King tried to break down racial discrimination";
   - crush
    
5. Make a mathematical, chemical, or grammatical analysis of; break down into components or essential features
   "break down today's financial market";
   - analyze [N. Amer], analyse [Brit, Cdn], dissect, take apart
    
6. Lose control of one's emotions
   "When she heard that she had not passed the exam, she broke down completely";
   - lose it [informal], snap
    
7. (chemistry) separate (substances) into constituent elements or parts
   "Bacteria break down organic matter";
   - decompose, break up
    
8. Fall or become unconscious due to fatigue, illness, or a sudden attack
   "The marathon runner broke down just before the finish line";
   - collapse

Derived forms: breaks down, broken down, breakdowns, breaking down, broke down

See also: break

Type of: acquit, act, alter, analysis, analytic thinking, bear, behave, break, bust [informal], carry, change, change integrity, chemical reaction, collapse, comport, conduct, consider, decay, deport, disruption, do, failure, get, have, modify, move, perturbation, prostration, reaction, reckon, regard, see, separate, suffer, sustain, view

Encyclopedia: Breakdown