break down


Meanings

  • the act of disrupting an established order so it fails to continue;
  • a mental or physical breakdown
  • a cessation of normal operation;
  • an analysis into mutually exclusive categories
  • make ineffective;
    • "Martin Luther King tried to break down racial discrimination"
  • make a mathematical, chemical, or grammatical analysis of; break down into components or essential features;
  • lose control of one's emotions;
  • stop operating or functioning;
  • fall apart;
  • cause to fall or collapse
  • separate (substances) into constituent elements or parts
  • collapse due to fatigue, an illness, or a sudden attack