breakdown

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A failure of a machine or system to keep working.

   The bus was late because of a breakdown on the motorway.

2. 2
   noun

   A period of severe mental or emotional illness that stops you living normally.

   After months of stress, she had a breakdown and took a long break from work.

3. 3
   noun

   A detailed division of something into its separate parts.

   The report gives a clear breakdown of how the money was spent.

4. 4
   noun

   The collapse or failure of a relationship or system.

   A breakdown in communication caused the whole project to fail.

Common collocations

• nervous breakdown Adjective + noun

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg-der. Proto-Germanic *brekaną Proto-West Germanic *brekan Old English brecan Middle English breken English break Old English of- Proto-Germanic *dūnaz? Proto-Celtic *dūnomder.? Proto-West Germanic *dūnā Old English dūne Old English ofdūne Old English adūne Old English dūne Middle English doun English down English break downdeverb. English breakdown Deverbal from break down.

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images