break down 1 of 2

verb

Definition of break downnext
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

breakdown

2 of 2

noun

ˈbrāk-ˌdau̇n How to pronounce breakdown (audio)
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

Synonym Chooser

How is the word break down distinct from other similar verbs?

The words analyze and dissect are common synonyms of break down. While all three words mean "to divide a complex whole into its parts or elements," break down implies a reducing to simpler parts or divisions.

break down the budget

When is it sensible to use analyze instead of break down?

Although the words analyze and break down have much in common, analyze suggests separating or distinguishing the component parts of something (such as a substance, a process, a situation) so as to discover its true nature or inner relationships.

analyzed the collected data

When could dissect be used to replace break down?

While in some cases nearly identical to break down, dissect suggests a searching analysis by laying bare parts or pieces for individual scrutiny.

commentators dissected every word of the speech

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of break down
Verb
But economic data increasingly suggests this mechanism may be breaking down. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2026 Nine months later, a cyclist sought relief from the sun here on a 105-degree day after his bicycle broke down. — Logan Smith, CBS News, 9 Aug. 2026
Noun
While the specific ownership breakdown of the team is not public and not widely known, Walter is the control owner and has the largest stake, Sportico understands. — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 12 Aug. 2026 In the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Craig Gilbert analyzed the vote breakdown and patterns from the primary. — David Weigel, semafor.com, 12 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for break down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for break down
  1. classify
  2. decompose
  3. analyze
  4. die
  5. crack
  6. take down
  7. shatter
  8. nervous breakdown
Verb
  • But the chief declined to classify the violence as gang-related at a community briefing on July 24, when reporters pressed her about whether the people involved belonged to rival gangs or families.
    — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Many of the first big commercial systems, like AltaVista, Lycos, Excite, and HotBot, used crawlers and indexes to automatically map a growing web rather than relying on editors to hand-classify every site.
    — Alan Bradley, ArsTechnica, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of classify
Verb
  • More than 50 decomposing bodies were found at the Far South Side funeral home last week.
    — Dave Savini, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • According to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the investigation has been complicated by how decomposed the bodies were.
    — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of decompose
Verb
  • Because of ever-increasing amounts of data to be analyzed, AI will have its place in digital forensics.
    — Lars Daniel, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Expanding treatment could save lives The study, published July 29 in the Journal of the American Heart Association, analyzed National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data from 2009 to 2018.
    — Sandee LaMotte, CNN Money, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of analyze
Verb
  • He was later stabilized but ultimately died from his injuries Sunday.
    — Jason Green, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Zhu steered China’s economic policy for more than a decade since the early 1990s, first as a vice premier and then the premier under late leader Jiang Zemin, who died in late 2022.
    — CNN Staff, CNN Money, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of die
Verb
  • Chalk a good part of that up to Wayne Ferreira, the coach Nakashima began working with in June, who previously helped Frances Tiafoe crack the top 10 and who’s helping Nakashima build trust in his own game.
    — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Over four days in July, the AI agents were able to map 21 government systems, crack 85 government user accounts, and extract 2,500 personnel records, according to Dream, an Israeli AI firm that first discovered the attack.
    — John Liu, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of crack
Verb
  • The next playable portion is a boss battle against a giant Sentinel robot, where Sabretooth and Mystique help Wolverine take down Trask’s latest invention.
    — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Previously, only sidewalk cafes could operate in all seasons, while cafes on the street were only allowed to be open from April through November, and then had to be taken down.
    — Jesse Zanger, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of take down
Verb
  • Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Ace protected the three deputies from Bowers but was shot in his left front leg, shattering the bone and tearing an artery that caused massive blood loss.
    — Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 12 Aug. 2026
  • The state of the job market has shattered the confidence of American workers.
    — Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of shatter
Noun
  • Embodied by Maradona, successive Argentinean national teams played with flair and toughness and an element of chaos, often on the edge of nervous breakdown.
    — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 16 July 2026
  • After suffering a nervous breakdown and being taken care of by Marlon Brando’s daughter Cheyenne in Tahiti, Jones eventually returned to his life as a mogul of music, television and magazines.
    — Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 3 July 2026
Definition of nervous breakdown

Phrases Containing break down

Browse Nearby Words

break bread
break down
breakdown
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Break down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/break%20down. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on break down

Nglish: Translation of break down for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of zeugma

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All