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
Bryan Robinson, Forbes.com, 27 Apr. 2025
Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 3 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
When the results were broken down by partisan affiliation, some noticeable differences emerged.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 20 Sep. 2025
When our bodies digest protein in food, it gets broken down into amino acids, which have a hand in many bodily processes, such as building and preserving muscle, making hormones, boosting the immune system and even maintaining healthy hair, skin and nails.
—Jacqueline Howard, CNN Money, 12 Sep. 2025
The lamb is delivered whole, broken down by Jackman, then salted, smoked, and braised.
—The Bon Appétit Staff, Bon Appetit Magazine, 12 Sep. 2025
The instructions reminded me of my son’s Lego sets in how they were broken down with one simple step on each page, explained using diagrams with few words.
—Clint Davis, People.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Potential for High Blood Sugar When lactose is broken down by lactase in milk, it is turned into glucose and galactose, which are considered simple sugars.
—Angelica Bottaro, Verywell Health, 8 Aug. 2025
This framework has several actionable steps that are broken down in greater detail below.
—Bihag Karnani, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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
Here's a list of the headline artists performing for ACL's first round of shows, as broken down by USA TODAY.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 3 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
When the results were broken down by partisan affiliation, some noticeable differences emerged.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 20 Sep. 2025
When our bodies digest protein in food, it gets broken down into amino acids, which have a hand in many bodily processes, such as building and preserving muscle, making hormones, boosting the immune system and even maintaining healthy hair, skin and nails.
—Jacqueline Howard, CNN Money, 12 Sep. 2025
The lamb is delivered whole, broken down by Jackman, then salted, smoked, and braised.
—The Bon Appétit Staff, Bon Appetit Magazine, 12 Sep. 2025
The instructions reminded me of my son’s Lego sets in how they were broken down with one simple step on each page, explained using diagrams with few words.
—Clint Davis, People.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Potential for High Blood Sugar When lactose is broken down by lactase in milk, it is turned into glucose and galactose, which are considered simple sugars.
—Angelica Bottaro, Verywell Health, 8 Aug. 2025
This framework has several actionable steps that are broken down in greater detail below.
—Bihag Karnani, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for broken-down
Adjective
-
The demolition of the former dilapidated Northridge Mall, which began last year, is finished.—
Hannah Kirby,
jsonline.com,
1 Oct. 2025
-
The restaurant is the joint labor of love for couple Wessie and Tradd Newton, who have stewarded the location from a dilapidated structure into a local institution.—
Alana Al-Hatlani,
Southern Living,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
In the case of Cardi B, whose net worth is reportedly close to $100 million, being legally separated from her husband qualifies her as a single mother, although her economics put her in another category apart from both single- and dual-parent families.—
Meagan Jordan,
Rolling Stone,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli have separated, Fox News has learned.—
Brie Stimson , Larry Fink,
FOXNews.com,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The first was that the obstacles were decomposed into cuboids.—
Jacek Krywko,
ArsTechnica,
25 Sep. 2025
-
Rivas’ cause and manner of death are still being determined by the medical examiner; the exam is taking longer than usual as the remains were severely decomposed.—
Kevin Dolak,
HollywoodReporter,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Vance said one portion of Democrats are making unreasonable demands to restore more than $1 trillion over the next decade in healthcare spending that was cut earlier this year.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
4 Oct. 2025
-
Training, professional development, and the Safe Cities Partnership are among the areas cut.—
Paul Egan,
Freep.com,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
As Brown crashed hard onto the orange turf of the end zone, his helmet popped off, spinning several yards while Brown continued rolling with the ball clutched in his arms.—
Shaun Goodwin,
Idaho Statesman,
2 Oct. 2025
-
In 1999, seeing that two Blue Angels crashed and were killed, Latham took it upon himself to mail two copies of poem to the Angels — without expectation of compensation, of course.—
Rick Mauch,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The rotation cracked cans, celebrating the biggest start of Yesavage’s life.—
Mitch Bannon,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
-
On October 6th, the Aries Full Moon rises, bringing to culmination storylines that began back on March 29th, 2025, when the Aries Solar Eclipse cracked open new paths for us.—
Dossé-Via Trenou,
Refinery29,
5 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Everyone could learn from the experience of being taken down and trying to escape, those moments when your freedom depends on your ability to overpower someone else.—
Dan Brooks,
The Atlantic,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Asked whether Robinson had literally copied and pasted Harrington’s idea, his website was taken down.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Each episode explores how Taylor shattered Hollywood’s glass ceiling, built a billion-dollar business empire, and transformed celebrity activism through her pioneering work in the fight against HIV/AIDS.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Jeff sustained a gunshot wound that shattered his ankle, receiving two surgeries to remove the bullet and leather from his foot.—
Natalie Davies,
Freep.com,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Broken-down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/broken-down. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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