breakdown
4 ENTRIES FOUND:
plural
breakdowns
plural
breakdowns
Britannica Dictionary definition of BREAKDOWN
1
:
a failure of a machine to function
:
an occurrence in which a machine (such as a car) stops working
[count]
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We had a breakdown on the highway. [=our car broke down on the highway; our car stopped working on the highway]
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The factory has had frequent equipment breakdowns.
[noncount]
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Frequent equipment breakdown [=(more commonly) failure] has been a problem at the factory.
2
a
[count]
:
the failure of a relationship or of an effort to discuss something
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There has been a breakdown of/in negotiations. [=negotiations have broken down; negotiations have failed]
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Both sides are to blame for the breakdown in communication.
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The irretrievable breakdown of a marriage can be grounds for divorce.
b
:
a failure that prevents a system from working properly
[count]
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trying to prevent a breakdown of the health-care system
[noncount]
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trying to prevent breakdown of the health-care system
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Analysts predict that the country is headed for economic breakdown. [=meltdown]
3
[count]
:
a sudden failure of mental or physical health that makes someone unable to live normally
—
see also nervous breakdown
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He suffered/had a breakdown after his wife died.
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a total physical/mental breakdown [=collapse]
4
:
the process or result of showing the different parts of something in order to understand it more clearly
[count]
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Doing/Providing a breakdown of the statistics into categories will take time.
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I want a detailed breakdown of the statistics into categories.
[noncount]
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The library's database enables breakdown by title, author, and genre.
5
[noncount]
:
the process or result of separating a substance into simpler parts
—
see also break down at 1break
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the breakdown of water into hydrogen and oxygen
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observing cell/tissue/protein breakdown
-
a substance that resists breakdown
