break down

(noun) the act of disrupting an established order so it fails to continue. Synonyms: dislocation, breakdown. Examples: "The social dislocations resulting from government policies." "His warning came after the breakdown of talks in london."

(noun) a mental or physical breakdown. Synonyms: breakdown, crack-up.

(noun) a cessation of normal operation. Synonyms: breakdown, equipment failure. Example: "There was a power breakdown."

(noun) an analysis into mutually exclusive categories. Synonyms: breakdown, partitioning.

(verb) make ineffective. Synonyms: break down, crush. Example: "Martin luther king tried to break down racial discrimination."

(verb) make a mathematical, chemical, or grammatical analysis of; break down into components or essential features. Synonyms: analyze, analyse, break down, dissect, take apart. Examples: "Analyze a specimen." "Analyze a sentence." "Analyze a chemical compound."

(verb) lose control of one's emotions. Synonyms: break down, lose it, snap. Examples: "When she heard that she had not passed the exam, she lost it completely." "When her baby died, she snapped."

(verb) stop operating or functioning. Synonyms: fail, go bad, give way, die, give out, conk out, go, break, break down. Examples: "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."

(verb) fall apart. Synonyms: crumble, crumple, tumble, break down, collapse. Examples: "The building crumbled after the explosion." "Negotiations broke down."

(verb) cause to fall or collapse. Synonyms: break down.

(verb) separate (substances) into constituent elements or parts. Synonyms: decompose, break up, break down.

(verb) collapse due to fatigue, an illness, or a sudden attack. Synonyms: break down, collapse.