- break down phrasal
- verb
1 MACHINE (I) if a large machine, especially a car, breaks down, it stops working: The elevators in this building are always breaking down.2 FAIL (I) if a discussion, system etc breaks down, it fails because there are problems: Peace talks have broken down over the question of reparations.3 DOOR (transitive break something down) if you break down a door, you hit it so hard that it breaks and falls to the ground4 CHANGE FIXED IDEAS (transitive break something down) to change the fixed ideas or feelings that someone or a group of people have so that they agree with yours: It'll be difficult to break down their prejudices about lesbians.5 CHANGE CHEMICALLY (I, T) if a substance breaks down or something breaks it down, it changes as a result of a chemical process(break sth down): Bacteria break down the animal waste to form methane gas.6 CRY (I) to be unable to stop yourself crying, especially in public: If I go to the funeral, I'll break down.7 BECOME ILL (I) to become mentally or physically ill: If Tim carries on working like this, he'll break down sooner or later.8 MAKE STH SIMPLE (transitive break something down) to separate something such as a job or report into parts, especially so that it is easier to do or understand: a recipe that breaks down the making of creme brulee into simple steps-see also: breakdown
Longman dictionary of contemporary English. 2004.
