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
Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
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
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
By the end, the team’s pitching was broken down.
—Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for broken-down
Adjective
-
The Gein farmhouse was a dilapidated house of horrors.—
Elizabeth Yuko,
Rolling Stone,
8 Oct. 2025
-
The demolition of the former dilapidated Northridge Mall, which began last year, is finished.—
Hannah Kirby,
jsonline.com,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
In bystander video reposted to Only in Dade, Eilish, flanked by security guards, is high fiving fans who are separated by a barricade.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
10 Oct. 2025
-
The compute portion of its data centers, which utilizes military-level FIPS 140-2 encryption, is also physically separated from all other systems, including security cameras and cooling systems.—
Kelsey Warner,
semafor.com,
10 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
-
Timberview had cut the lead to 32-22 but couldn’t stop the Jaguars’ rushing attack.—
Jordan Neal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
11 Oct. 2025
-
The Philippine Fault Zone, which cuts across the archipelago, is one of many active faults responsible for significant seismic events.—
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Price’s vehicle then crashed into a tree, according to the crash report.—
Fox19 staff,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
15 Oct. 2025
-
When the plane crashed, another driver saw the victim screaming.—
Charna Flam,
PEOPLE,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Inside these tiny zones, PET chains stretched, cracked, and softened , providing perfect conditions for reacting with sodium hydroxide.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Oct. 2025
-
The veneer cracked as Misiorowski lost connection with the strike zone.—
Andy McCullough,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
He has already been taken down 12 times, eight over the past three games.—
Tim Graham,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
-
While a Facebook group for ICE sightings in Chicago does appear to have been taken down, as of Tuesday evening, dozens of other groups, some with thousands of members, remained visible on Facebook.—
Jason Del Rey,
Fortune,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Both teams boast impressive defenses, but the Bills are coming off an embarrassing loss to a divisional rival last week that shattered hopes of an undefeated season.—
Gabe Smallson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
-
The Trojans may have shattered that superstition, improving to 7-5 all-time against the blue-blood Wolverines.—
Haley Sawyer,
Oc Register,
12 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Broken-down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/broken-down. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.
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