1
as in to classify
to arrange or assign according to type
when presented with the pile of files, the first thing he did was to break them down by month, order within the month, and region
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to decompose
to go through decomposition
the enamel of a human tooth will begin to break down when exposed to sugar for too long
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to analyze
to identify and examine the basic elements or parts of (something) especially for discovering interrelationships
if we break the problem down into what appear to be three aspects of it, we'll have a better chance of solving it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to die
to stop functioning
the computer finally broke down and had to be replaced
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in to crack
to yield to mental or emotional stress
began to break down when he realized that he was on the verge of bankruptcy
Synonyms & Similar Words
6
as in to take down
to take apart
the crew was breaking down the party tent when we arrived
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
7
as in to shatter
to cause to break with violence and much noise
firefighters had to break down the wall to rescue the kitten
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in nervous breakdown
a mental or nervous collapse
if you don't ease your workload, you're going to have a breakdown
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in decomposition
the process by which dead organic matter separates into simpler substances
the breakdown of the body was arrested by the embalming process
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in analysis
the separation and identification of the parts of a whole
the boss wanted a detailed breakdown of the sales figures
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of break down
Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 21 Jan. 2026
The county is broken down into 100 routes.
—Veronica Ortega, CBS News, 21 Jan. 2026
Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 22 Jan. 2026
Start with routine maintenance Routine HVAC maintenance is the single most effective way to prevent winter breakdowns.
—Sergio Candido, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for break down
Verb
Oil shortages and obsolete power stations constantly breaking down have made daily hours-long blackouts the new normal.
—Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 21 Jan. 2026
The county is broken down into 100 routes.
—Veronica Ortega, CBS News, 21 Jan. 2026
Noun
Clancy allegedly strangled her children Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, eight months, during the throes of a postpartum breakdown, then tried to kill herself at their Duxbury home on January 24, 2023.
—Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 22 Jan. 2026
Start with routine maintenance Routine HVAC maintenance is the single most effective way to prevent winter breakdowns.
—Sergio Candido, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for break down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for break down
Verb
-
Researchers classified Claude interactions by purpose — work, education, personal use — and then explored how AI was being deployed within work tasks.—
Anisha Sircar,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
-
They're classified as hexapods and are more closely related to crustaceans rather than insects, despite their appearance.—
Cailey Gleeson,
jsonline.com,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But Jewish artist Nina Sanadze saw a chance to immortalize the bouquets, even as their petals faded and decomposed.—
Oscar Holland,
CNN Money,
22 Jan. 2026
-
In January Choose an organic mulch that will gradually decompose and add nutrients to the soil.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Grifters can be analyzed by affect (jolly, cold, angry, greedy, sad) and/or by gender.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Scott and other researchers analyzed more than 5 million health records from 2017 to 2024.—
Dr. Jade Cobern,
ABC News,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Vince Gill, the country star who joined the band after original member Glenn Frey died in 2016, shouldered most of the load caused by Walsh’s absence.—
Jim Harrington,
Mercury News,
25 Jan. 2026
-
The co-worker said Pretti researched how to prevent veterans from dying from colon cancer.—
Jeff Winter,
CNN Money,
25 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
McNee said any tree that has sap could have frost cracking in the right conditions.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Social media treats the tree-popping phenomenon as a sign of the apocalypse, but Indigenous peoples have long used the sound of cracking timber to mark the passage of winter.—
Owen Clarke,
Outside,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
In the modern landscape, there could be something enjoyably cathartic about letting a chat bot be the big bad our hero has to take down.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
21 Jan. 2026
-
The managers at Camping World Roseville said two people took down the flag and drove away with it in the bed of a pickup truck.—
Esteban Reynoso,
CBS News,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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An attack on Greenland would shatter NATO, handing a strategic victory to Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin as the world's most successful defensive alliance collapses.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
22 Jan. 2026
-
School district officials in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, say their sense of security is shaken and their hearts shattered after four students from the district were recently taken by officers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.—
Reg Chapman,
CBS News,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
As for this devastated, miserable, freaked out, walking nervous breakdown of a man?—
Stephen Schaefer,
Boston Herald,
25 Nov. 2025
-
The 1970s were Hollywood’s nervous breakdown.—
Remy Blumenfeld,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Break down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/break%20down. Accessed 27 Jan. 2026.
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