to break down
213
2.8
- phrasal verb
- /breɪk daʊn/
:
desglosar
- In the meeting, we need to break down the project into smaller tasks to understand it better.
- break down into parts
- break down into components
- break down into manageable parts
Secondly, you need to break down what regret means to you.
- Secondly, you need to break down what regret means to you.
- So let's break it down in the most basic way.
- But I thought I would break down what that means to me.
- Then he breaks inflation down into three things.
- We have him here today to help us break down all things digital.
- All right, so let's break this down respectfully.
- We are going to break down grief.
- Like how do you break that down into like a schedule?
- You just break it down, roll it up and you go.
Examples
-
Well, so if you break down that message, let's do it.
-
First of all, let's break this down one by one in reverse.
-
We have him here today to help us break down all things digital.
-
So you broke this down into this right here.
-
What I like about this is you break it down so clear.
-
You could take a table, break it down, new pieces, make a chair.
-
We are going to break down grief.
-
All right, so let's break this down respectfully.
-
Look at what you need to accomplish your goals and break it down into manageable steps.
Academic text (2011) -
And that means you've got to break your goals down into measurable terms.
Synonyms
680
1.1
To split something into parts or groups
675
3.2
To study something carefully to understand it better
513
1.3
To break something into two or more parts
297
1.9
To break into parts or pieces
66
2.7
Separate something into smaller pieces
64
4.2
Take something apart into separate pieces
47
2.6
To divide something into smaller parts
43
5.5
To study something closely by breaking it into parts, for example a text or idea
29
6.0
Break into smaller parts by losing energy in a physical process, for example in an atom
26
3.0
To separate into pieces, for example a machine or a group
21
3.2
To break something into pieces by hand
19
3.8
To take something apart into separate pieces
9
5.5
To break a substance into smaller chemical parts using heat or chemicals
7
3.4
To study a text or idea by looking at its parts
3
7.5
To separate something into smaller parts to study it
1
7.1
Break a data structure into separate parts for use in code
1
9.9
To cut or separate something into parts, often by breaking it
1
7.4
To split a molecule into atoms or ions
Antonyms
How Detailed
43
5.5
- US
675
3.2
213
2.8
632
1.0
- US
90
3.0
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 idea of breaking a whole into smaller parts, with the down part showing the parts falling away. So it means 'to separate something into parts'.