to break down
194
3.2
- phrasal verb
- /breɪk daʊn/
:
dejar de funcionar
- My Jaguar has broken down.
- systems break down
- processes break down
- break down requiring repair
One vehicle that was that broke down on us and that was it.
- One vehicle that was that broke down on us and that was it.
- And when this TV breaks down, the signal still exists, right?
- So the Petro dollar is breaking down slowly at the margin.
- In fact, when cooperation breaks down, the results can be disastrous.
- You saw the broken down cars on the road.
- So some stuff breaks down in our interface, right?
- It's I'm sorry, cooperation breaks down, the results can be disastrous.
- So that day, my mom's car broke down and she was in San Bernardino.
- But that begins to break down in the earliest stages of Alzheimer's.
- When that broke down, what was that experience like?
- So the whole thing kind of gets very extreme and breaks down ultimately in Einstein's picture.
- It was always breaking down and losing money at front and centre.
Examples
-
When I was driving home, my car suddenly broke down on the highway.
-
- Wow, it's a really hot day to be broken down on the side of the road.
-
- My car broke down.
-
But machines always break down.
-
Just drove and drove and finally broke down right here.
-
Because once the legal system breaks down, then all bets are off.
-
Hey, listen, my car broke down back here and, uh, I was just wondering if I could borrow a couple of bucks till I get to a gas station?
-
After only about two hours of threshing, the machine broke down and wasn't able to get running again.
Academic text (2008) -
The computer system broke down during the presentation, causing a delay.
-
After years of use, the old printer finally broke down and would not work anymore.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To change a large bill into smaller bills
579
3.9
To fall down suddenly, for example when a person faints or a building breaks
498
4.6
To stop working, often suddenly
370
2.2
Stop working properly, as a machine or part
187
3.4
To stop working for a short time
156
3.2
To stop working suddenly, especially for a computer or program
57
4.1
To stop working or run out so nothing is left
45
4.1
To stop working suddenly
35
4.2
Break or fail because of pressure
33
3.5
Stop working and need repair
11
6.8
To stop working or fail completely
7
8.1
To stop working suddenly or to fall asleep because of tiredness
6
4.2
To stop working, used for a website or system
1
8.0
To stop working properly, often about machines
Antonyms
How Functional
Surface Forms
Morphology
There is a clear connection between 'break' (to stop or interrupt) and 'down' (suggesting reduction or completion), so a learner might partially infer a sense of something being made ineffective or collapsing. However, the specific sense 'to fail' (as in negotiations breaking down) is a phrasal-verb meaning that is not fully predictable from the constituents and therefore only partially transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Break down comes from the image of a machine that breaks and falls down into pieces. So it means 'to stop working'.