Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
break down (verb)transitive verb
1.
a) to cause to fall or collapse by breaking or shattering
b) to make ineffective - break down legal barriers
2.
a) to divide into parts or categories
b) to separate (as a chemical compound) into simpler substances - decompose
intransitive verb
c) to take apart especially for storage or shipment and for later reassembling
1.
a) to stop functioning because of breakage or wear
b) to become inoperative or ineffective - fail negotiations broke down
c) to fail in strength or vitality - her health broke down
d) to succumb to mental or emotional stress - broke down and cried
e) to lose one's resolve - give in finally broke down and bought a computer
2.
of horses to severely injure the supporting ligament or bones of the fetlock joint
3.
a) to be susceptible to or undergo analysis or subdivision - the statistics break down like this
b) to undergo decomposition analyze
Merriam-Webster Online Thesaurus
break down (verb)1.
to arrange or assign according to type
SYNONIMS:
assort, break down, categorize, class, codify, compartment, compartmentalize, digest, distinguish, distribute, grade, group, peg, place, range, rank, relegate, separate, sort, typeRELATED WORDS:
array, dispose, draw up, marshal ( marshall), order, organize, systematize; alphabetize, catalog ( catalogue), file, index, list, refer; pigeonhole, shelve; identify, recognize; cull, screen, set, sieve, sift, winnow; clump, cluster, colligate; recategorize, reclassify, regroup; subcategorizeNEAR ANTONYMS:
confuse, disarrange, jumble, lump, mix (up), scramble; misclassify, missort, mistype2.
to go through decomposition
SYNONIMS:
break down, corrupt, decompose, disintegrate, fester, foul, mold, molder, perish, putrefy, rot, spoilRELATED WORDS:
sour, turn, turn off []; contaminate, defile, pollute, taint; addle, curdle, ferment; mortify; rust; crumble, decline, degenerate, descend, deteriorate, dilapidate, sink, witherNEAR ANTONYMS:
age, develop, grow, mature, ripen; refresh, renew, restore; cleanse, purify; assemble, compose, integrate; ameliorate, better, improve, meliorate3.
to identify and examine the basic elements or parts of (something) especially for discovering interrelationships
SYNONIMS:
anatomize, assay, break down, cut, deconstruct, dissectRELATED WORDS:
assess, diagnose, evaluate, examine, inspect, investigate, scrutinize; arrange, assort, catalog ( catalogue), categorize, classify, codify, diagram, enumerate, index, order, schematize, sort, tabulate; divide, reduce, segment, separate, subdivideNEAR ANTONYMS:
agglomerate, aggregate, amalgamate, assimilate, coalesce, conglomerate, consolidate, integrate, synthesize, unify4.
to stop functioning
SYNONIMS:
break, break down, conk (out), crash, cut out, die, give out, stallRELATED WORDS:
fizzle, sputter, wheeze; act up, malfunction; jam5.
to yield to mental or emotional stress
SYNONIMS:
break down, break up, flip (out), freak (out), melt down, wig (out)RELATED WORDS:
choke6.
to take apart
SYNONIMS:
break down, demount, dismantle, dismember, dismount, knock down, strike, take downRELATED WORDS:
detach, disengage; break up, disaggregate, disarticulate, disconnect, disjoin, disjoint, dissever, disunite, divide, separateNEAR ANTONYMS:
build, erect, pitch; combine, unite7.
to cause to break with violence and much noise
SYNONIMS:
break down, crash, shatterRELATED WORDS:
bust, fracture, fragment; annihilate, bash, decimate, demolish, desolate, destroy, devastate, nuke, pulverize, ruin, tear down, total, vaporize, waste, wrack, wreck; shiver, splinter, split; crack, crunch, crush, snap