Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun break_down
4 senses of breakdown
Sense 1
dislocation, breakdown -- (the act of disrupting an established order so it fails to continue; "the social dislocations resulting from government policies"; "his warning came after the breakdown of talks in London")
=> disruption, perturbation -- (the act of causing disorder)
Sense 2
breakdown, crack-up -- (a mental or physical breakdown)
=> collapse, prostration -- (an abrupt failure of function or complete physical exhaustion; "the commander's prostration demoralized his men")
Sense 3
breakdown, equipment failure -- (a cessation of normal operation; "there was a power breakdown")
=> failure -- (an event that does not accomplish its intended purpose; "the surprise party was a complete failure")
Sense 4
breakdown, partitioning -- (an analysis into mutually exclusive categories)
=> analysis, analytic thinking -- (the abstract separation of a whole into its constituent parts in order to study the parts and their relations)
Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb break_down
8 senses of break down
Sense 1
break down, crush -- (make ineffective; "Martin Luther King tried to break down racial discrimination")
=> change, alter, modify -- (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue")
Sense 2
analyze, analyse, break down, dissect, take apart -- (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")
Sense 3
break down, lose it, snap -- (lose control of one's emotions; "When she heard that she had not passed the exam, she lost it completely"; "When her baby died, she snapped")
=> act, behave, do -- (behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself; "You should act like an adult"; "Don't behave like a fool"; "What makes her do this way?"; "The dog acts ferocious, but he is really afraid of people")
Sense 4
fail, go bad, give way, die, give out, conk out, go, break, break down -- (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")
=> change -- (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature; "She changed completely as she grew older"; "The weather changed last night")
Sense 5
crumble, crumple, tumble, break down, collapse -- (fall apart; "the building crumbled after the explosion"; "Negotiations broke down")
=> change integrity -- (change in physical make-up)
Sense 6
break down -- (cause to fall or collapse)
=> break, bust -- (ruin completely; "He busted my radio!")
Sense 7
decompose, break up, break down -- (separate (substances) into constituent elements or parts)
=> separate -- (divide into components or constituents; "Separate the wheat from the chaff")
Sense 8
break down, collapse -- (collapse due to fatigue, an illness, or a sudden attack)
=> suffer, sustain, have, get -- (undergo (as of injuries and illnesses); "She suffered a fracture in the accident"; "He had an insulin shock after eating three candy bars"; "She got a bruise on her leg"; "He got his arm broken in the scuffle")