as in dilapidated
in a bad or weak condition because of being old, not well cared for, etc.
A broken-down car was blocking one of the lanes of the road. His body was now broken-down after many years of hard living.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
1
as in separated
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in decomposed
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 cut
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 crashed
to stop functioning
the computer finally broke down and had to be replaced
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in cracked
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 taken down
to take apart
the crew was breaking down the party tent when we arrived
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
7
as in shattered
to cause to break with violence and much noise
firefighters had to break down the wall to rescue the kitten
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of broken-down
Jen Guadarrama, IndyStar, 26 Jan. 2026
Here are the top ten states with an overall stress rank in parenthesis, each broken-down by rank order for each of the five dimensions: work stress, financial stress, family stress, health & safety stress and work-life balance rankings.
—Bryan Robinson, Forbes.com, 27 Apr. 2025
ABC News, 14 Mar. 2026
Negotiations have been ongoing for years, but trust on both sides has broken down.
—Mihir Sharma, Twin Cities, 8 Mar. 2026
The schedule is broken down by position group and players will be interviewed by teams and media; undergo different physical and mental exams; have their official draft day measurements taken and, maybe most importantly workout for scouts, fans and general mangers.
—Zoe Collins Rath, Austin American Statesman, 22 Feb. 2026
The Herald report found that most of the Proterra buses had broken down within a year of deployment and were pulled from routes as maintenance requests piled up.
—Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 31 Jan. 2026
Several of the city’s small homeless campsites were broken down, leading some of the homeless to enter shelters temporarily.
—Christopher Cann, USA Today, 25 Oct. 2025
During this process, proteins in the flour are broken down into smaller compounds called peptides.
—Morgan Pearson, Verywell Health, 24 Oct. 2025
By the end, the team’s pitching was broken down.
—Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Canva Financial issues, family policies and cultural shifts are generally cited as the main reasons for the decline in births, which Newsweek has broken down in detail here.
—Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025
Adjective
Captain Ron Galaviz, the agency's chief public information officer, reported that there were 632 stuck or broken-down cars, 327 slide-offs and 423 car crashes.
—Jen Guadarrama, IndyStar, 26 Jan. 2026
Here are the top ten states with an overall stress rank in parenthesis, each broken-down by rank order for each of the five dimensions: work stress, financial stress, family stress, health & safety stress and work-life balance rankings.
—Bryan Robinson, Forbes.com, 27 Apr. 2025
Verb
Even squares or irregular blobs can be broken down into a series of progressively smaller circles and calculated using pi, Davoyan said.
—ABC News, 14 Mar. 2026
Negotiations have been ongoing for years, but trust on both sides has broken down.
—Mihir Sharma, Twin Cities, 8 Mar. 2026
The schedule is broken down by position group and players will be interviewed by teams and media; undergo different physical and mental exams; have their official draft day measurements taken and, maybe most importantly workout for scouts, fans and general mangers.
—Zoe Collins Rath, Austin American Statesman, 22 Feb. 2026
The Herald report found that most of the Proterra buses had broken down within a year of deployment and were pulled from routes as maintenance requests piled up.
—Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 31 Jan. 2026
Several of the city’s small homeless campsites were broken down, leading some of the homeless to enter shelters temporarily.
—Christopher Cann, USA Today, 25 Oct. 2025
During this process, proteins in the flour are broken down into smaller compounds called peptides.
—Morgan Pearson, Verywell Health, 24 Oct. 2025
By the end, the team’s pitching was broken down.
—Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Canva Financial issues, family policies and cultural shifts are generally cited as the main reasons for the decline in births, which Newsweek has broken down in detail here.
—Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for broken-down
Adjective
-
But these Brown and Black immigrants were usually segregated into dilapidated apartments in the region’s oldest housing stock.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Mar. 2026
-
The guy handed Gary some cash and Stewart disappeared into a dilapidated trailer.—
Jonathan Bernstein,
Rolling Stone,
17 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The living room and bedroom can be separated by two large pocket doors, ideal for friends traveling together or families with kids.—
Nicole Kliest,
Vogue,
19 Mar. 2026
-
Many agreed on one point Wednesday — the movement can be separated from the man.—
Ryan Carter,
Daily News,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The detail was that Rivas’ body was not only badly decomposed when it was found – it had been dismembered and separated into two bags before being placed in the trunk of the Tesla.—
Allison Gordon,
CNN Money,
12 Mar. 2026
-
In both cases, the remains were decomposed, and appeared that they may have been moved around multiple locations before being discovered, authorities said.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Even as Michigan State came roaring back in the second half, cutting the lead to just two in the final minute, UCLA never flinched.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Mar. 2026
-
Orangefield cut the lead to 8 points a couple of times late in the game, but Cobb made 5 of 6 free throws in the final 46 seconds to keep the Bobcats at bay.—
Darren Lauber,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Three airmen from the Ohio Air National Guard's 121st Air Refueling Wing were among six crew members killed on March 12 when their KC-135 Stratotanker crashed in western Iraq.—
Steven Beynon,
ABC News,
20 Mar. 2026
-
While in 1570 the island furnished 70 percent of the sugar in Antwerp—Europe’s most important market—the figure had crashed to 2 percent in the 1590s.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Additionally, safflower seeds, peanuts, cracked corn and suet nuggets are also popular with the grosbeaks.—
Ernie Cowan,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Mar. 2026
-
Young is at The Players for the fourth time and has never cracked the top 50, and yet his optimism was running high even after a double bogey to finish.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Pitman did not respond to multiple interview requests early Monday evening, by which time the Gillyweeds Facebook page appeared to have been taken down.—
Ross Raihala,
Twin Cities,
17 Mar. 2026
-
The statue had been displayed at Love Field since the 1960s but was taken down in 2020.—
Lawrence Dow,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Residents helped to clear away rubble caused by the blast, which appeared to hit an apartment block, as vehicles sat covered in dust with their windows shattered and rubble strewn across the road.—
NBC News,
NBC news,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Most impressively, the program shattered traditional timelines by delivering a flight-ready system in just eight months.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Broken-down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/broken-down. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
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