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
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
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
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
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for broken-down
Adjective
-
In this way, abandoned and often dilapidated homes are saved and renovated rather than being left to further deteriorate or be torn down.—
Eric Adler
December 22,
Kansas City Star,
22 Dec. 2025
-
To find her, Luis becomes embedded with an outlaw band of ravers, who cross the Moroccan desert in huge, dilapidated trucks.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
16 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Per the Hindu, Das' head had been separated from his body in the attack.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
11 Jan. 2026
-
This design consists of an aluminum (Al) foil anode current collector, an S8 cathode, sodium dicyanamide (NaDCA) in a non-flammable chloroaluminate electrolyte, separated with a glass fiber.—
Ameya Paleja,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Jan. 2026
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
-
Carolina cut the lead 17-14 at halftime after a 1-yard touchdown run by Hubbard and a 16-yard scramble by Young, the second-longest TD run of his career.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
11 Jan. 2026
-
This same staff cut him to make room for a waiver-wire claim before the start of the 2024 season.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The Toyota crashed, and the Charger sped away, according to court records.—
Ben Wheeler,
Kansas City Star,
10 Jan. 2026
-
The masked agent can be seen on video going to the scene where Good's car crashed into another, then walking away, getting into an SUV and leaving the area.—
Charna Flam,
PEOPLE,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Last year, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame chairman John Sykes cracked open the door to dispel a bit of mystique that surrounds his nominating committee.—
Devon Ivie,
Vulture,
9 Nov. 2025
-
To this day, no townhouse has cracked $90 million — hedge-funder Philip Falcone’s doublewide townhouse on East 65th Street, set the townhouse record in 2019 at nearly $80 million, which has yet to be surpassed.—
Kim Velsey,
Curbed,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Sprinkles now joins a long list of companies ultimately taken down by private equity.—
Li Goldstein,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
9 Jan. 2026
-
The original video appears to have now been taken down, and Newsweek reached out to the TikTok creator for comment.—
Suzanne Blake,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
By the afternoon, the store had reopened, but the front door's glass remained shattered, with a large banner placed in front of the entrance, the local station reported.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
7 Jan. 2026
-
The Kohbergers’ pride in Bryan was shattered by the revelation that he was suspected of and later admitted to the slaughter.—
Theresa Braine,
Mercury News,
6 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Broken-down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/broken-down. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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