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breakdown.

A failure, particularly one which is mechanical in nature.

9 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈbɹeɪkdaʊn/Received-Pronunciation/ˈbɹeɪkˌdaʊn/General-American/bɹɛk.duːn/Northumbria
  1. A failure, particularly one which is mechanical in nature.

    countable
    Whenever he was behind the wheel, he would panic at the first sign of a breakdown.
  2. A failure, particularly one which is mechanical in nature. The sudden (and usually damaging) transition of an electrical insulator to a conductor when subjected to a sufficiently strong voltage, caused by the partial or complete ionization of the insulator; (countable) an instance of this; also, the minimum voltage at which this occurs.

    uncountable
  3. Something, such as a vehicle, that has experienced a mechanical failure.

    countable
    We saw a breakdown by the side of the road.
  4. Separation of a thing into components; decomposition, fragmentation; (countable) an instance of this. Detailed categorization, or itemization or listing, of the components of a thing; (countable) an instance of this.

    uncountable
    Looking at the breakdown of the budget, I see a few items we could cut.
  5. Separation of a thing into components; decomposition, fragmentation; (countable) an instance of this. Breaking of chemical bonds within a compound to produce simpler compounds or elements; (countable) an instance of this.

    uncountable
  6. Separation of a thing into components; decomposition, fragmentation; (countable) an instance of this. A detailed description of a forthcoming project or screenplay which identifies all the required elements, such as the cast, costumes, equipment, props, and special effects.

    countable
  7. A failure in a relationship; a failure or loss of organization in a system.

    countable · figuratively
  8. (Sudden) worsening of physical health or (more commonly) mental stability, resulting in an inability to carry on normal activities; (countable) an instance of this.

    figuratively · uncountable
    After so much stress, he suffered a breakdown and simply gave up.
  9. Injury to a horse's leg causing lameness; (countable) an instance of this.

    figuratively · uncountable
  10. The short period of open play immediately after a tackle and before and during the ensuing ruck.

    countable · figuratively · uncountable
  11. An act of splitting logs of wood using a large saw in a sawmill; also, the saw used; or (rare) the building in which the process is carried out.

    attributive · countable · figuratively
  12. A part of a piece of music or a song which differs from the other parts in that it features improvisation or is stripped down (for example, played by fewer instruments or a solo performer).

    countable · uncountable
  13. Synonym of percussion break (“a percussion-focused segment of a song, chosen by a hip-hop DJ to manipulate through cutting, mixing, and other techniques in order to create rhythmic music”).

    countable · uncountable
  14. A section of a song, typical in hardcore music and related styles (such as metalcore, grindcore, and deathcore), characterized by a lower tempo and greater heaviness and intensity of sound.

    countable · uncountable
  15. A noisy, rapid, shuffling dance engaged in competitively by a number of individuals or pairs in succession, common among African-Americans from the Southern United States; also, a lively event, chiefly in a rural setting, at which such dancing is done; a hoedown, a shindig.

    Southern-US · countable · dated · uncountable
  16. A piece of music played for such a dance, especially a rapid bluegrass tune featuring a five-string banjo.

    Southern-US · countable · uncountable
  17. An act of a structure or other thing breaking and collapsing.

    countable · obsolete
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree English break Middle English doun English down English break downdeverb. English breakdown Deverbal from break down.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.