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
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
Welcome to your Queer Weekly Horoscope, a bite-sized look at the coming days broken down by your zodiac sign.
—Colin Bedell, Them., 5 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
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
Welcome to your Queer Weekly Horoscope, a bite-sized look at the coming days broken down by your zodiac sign.
—Colin Bedell, Them., 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for broken-down
Adjective
-
Additionally, several existing dilapidated buildings on the site will be demolished and their concrete recycled and partly reused to realize the new structures.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Dayna is unemployed and newly single, and an out-of-the-blue opportunity to fix up a dilapidated mansion into an influencer house seems like her ticket to a new life.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
31 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
An explosion separated the Bell’s tail boom, main rotor, mast and transmission and sent the fuselage crashing into the ground.—
Alexandra Skores,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
-
As before, the Humane Editor uses a large central workspace subdivided into individual documents, here separated by backtick characters.—
Cameron Kaiser,
ArsTechnica,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Two people discovered badly decomposed human remains while doing a walkthrough of a home for sale in Ohio, police told news outlets.—
Mitchell Willetts,
Kansas City Star,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Their remains were either so badly decomposed to be identified, or perhaps their dog tags were missing.—
Jim Clash,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Others have cut bills by a factor of five.—
Matthew Kayser,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
-
Jobless claims hit their highest level since 2021 last week, adding to recent labor market revisions that have fueled confidence the Fed will cut rates in September.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
That Tuesday morning, Rodriguez was home with a seven-month-old baby when a friend of hers—who happened to be a police officer at the 41st Precinct in the Bronx—called her to tell her a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center.—
Rachel Burchfield,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
-
And in a rural field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, a similar ceremony marked by moments of silence, the reading of names and the laying of wreaths, will honor the victims of Flight 93, the hijacked plane that crashed after crew members and passengers tried to storm the cockpit.—
Philip Marcelo,
Fortune,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
And some people are just a little cracked and would rather live their life at night.—
Steve Baltin,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Beesley was in the middle of the crowd, around 10 yards away from Kirk, when the sound of the rifle round cracked in the air.—
Rick Jervis,
USA Today,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Palace’s centre-forward quickly threads the ball to Kamada, who is taken down by Marco Bizot, winning his team a penalty.—
Ahmed Walid,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
-
The social media pages for Lampers, who was known as StHealthyHunter, were quickly taken down.—
Dac Collins,
Outdoor Life,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Getty Images The nascent campaign has already shattered the record for philanthropic money raised in support of hosting an Olympic and Paralympic Games.—
Blythe Lawrence,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
When your industry is being shattered by greed?—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
15 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Broken-down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/broken-down. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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