BREAKING DOWN Synonyms: 224 Similar and Opposite Words

breaking down

verb

present participle of break down

as in classifying

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

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Relevance

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as in decomposing

to go through decomposition the enamel of a human tooth will begin to break down when exposed to sugar for too long

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as in analyzing

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

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as in dying

to stop functioning the computer finally broke down and had to be replaced

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starting (up)

as in melting down

to yield to mental or emotional stress began to break down when he realized that he was on the verge of bankruptcy

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as in taking down

to take apart the crew was breaking down the party tent when we arrived

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as in shattering

to cause to break with violence and much noise firefighters had to break down the wall to rescue the kitten

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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 breaking down Old Man Ross over here is literally breaking down on the job. —

Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Mar. 2026 Its acidity helps cut through grime, dissolving dirt and breaking down grease and mineral deposits. —

Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 4 Mar. 2026 For his debut live event, Devon and his special guests are breaking down ridiculous lyrics, taking fan submissions, and getting into the bars that shaped us, betrayed us, and honestly raised some questions. —

Matt Grobar, Deadline, 25 Feb. 2026 With the war increasingly breaking down along the country’s predominant Arab and African ethnic groups, Sudan faces the task of rebuilding a national identity along with all the other trappings of a state. —

Cameron Hudson, semafor.com, 25 Feb. 2026 Spring training is here and SportsDay’s Rangers insiders Evan Grant and Shawn McFarland are on the scene breaking down the latest from Texas’ camp. —

Shawn McFarland, Dallas Morning News, 25 Feb. 2026 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 Others are also said to be on the verge of breaking down. —

Jermont Terry, CBS News, 8 Jan. 2026 Three decades later, this international liberal order is breaking down. —

Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for breaking down

Verb

The industry says classifying EWA as a loan could have the perverse effect of sending consumers back to higher-cost, risky alternatives such as payday loans or pawn shops by imposing unnecessary restrictions, such as mandatory fees, interest charges and credit reporting requirements.

— Cheryl Winokur Munk, CNBC, 27 Feb. 2026
His team uses taxonomy — the science of naming and classifying species — to formalize new names from field notes.

— Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 27 Feb. 2026