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.
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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
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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
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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
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4
as in crashed
to stop functioning
the computer finally broke down and had to be replaced
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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
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6
as in taken down
to take apart
the crew was breaking down the party tent when we arrived
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7
as in shattered
to cause to break with violence and much noise
firefighters had to break down the wall to rescue the kitten
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Cite this Entry
“Broken-down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/broken-down. Accessed 12 Jul. 2026.
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