# breakdown

Pronunciation: say "BRAYK-down" US /ˈbɹeɪkˌdaʊn/, UK /ˈbɹeɪkdaʊn/

## Noun

1. A failure, especially a mechanical one that stops a machine or vehicle from working.
   - Simple: A sudden failure of a machine or vehicle, so that it stops working.
   - _The factory line ground to a halt after a breakdown in the main conveyor._
   - _Frequent breakdowns made the old bus unreliable for the morning commute._
2. A sudden worsening of physical health or, more often, mental stability, leaving a person unable to carry on with normal activities.
   - Simple: A time when someone becomes so unwell in body or mind that they cannot do normal daily things.
   - _The constant pressure at work eventually triggered a complete breakdown._
   - _Several breakdowns over the years left her wary of demanding jobs._
3. A detailed listing or categorization of the separate parts or components that make up something.
   - Simple: A list that shows all the separate parts of something.
   - _The report included a full breakdown of costs by department._
   - _She asked for a breakdown of the project into smaller tasks._
4. A serious failure affecting a relationship, or a disruption of a system's functioning or organization.
   - Simple: A serious failure in a relationship, or a loss of order in a system.
   - _The breakdown of trust between the partners doomed the business._
   - _Repeated communication breakdowns caused the rescue effort to fail._
5. A vehicle or other machine that has suffered a mechanical failure and stopped working.
   - Simple: A vehicle or machine that has stopped working because something inside it broke.
   - _The highway patrol cleared the breakdown before rush hour._
   - _Two breakdowns on the same stretch caused long delays._
6. The breaking of chemical bonds within a compound to produce simpler compounds or elements.
   - Simple: The breaking apart of a chemical into simpler chemicals or basic substances.
   - _Enzymes speed up the breakdown of starch into glucose._
   - _Repeated breakdowns of the catalyst reduced the reaction's efficiency._
7. A part of a piece of music that differs from the rest by featuring improvisation or by being stripped down to fewer instruments.
   - Simple: A part of a song that is simpler or has players making up the music as they go.
   - _The track's breakdown features a long, improvised saxophone solo._
   - _Audiences cheered when the drummer carried the breakdown alone._
8. A section of a song, common in hardcore and related styles, marked by a lower tempo and a heavier, more intense sound.
   - Simple: In heavy music, a slower, heavier part of a song meant to sound very intense.
   - _The metalcore band saved its heaviest breakdown for the encore._
   - _Fans moshed through every breakdown in the set._
9. In hip-hop, a percussion-focused segment of a song that a DJ manipulates through cutting and mixing to create rhythmic music.
   - Simple: In hip-hop, the part of a song with just the drums, which a DJ plays with and mixes.
   - _The DJ cut between two copies of the same record to extend the breakdown._
   - _Early hip-hop crews built whole routines around a single breakdown._
10. The sudden, usually damaging change of an electrical insulator into a conductor under a strong enough voltage, caused by partial or complete ionization of the material.
   - Simple: A sudden failure where a material that normally blocks electricity suddenly lets it pass, because the voltage is too high.
   - _Engineers raised the test voltage until a breakdown occurred at several thousand volts._
   - _Excessive voltage across the capacitor caused a breakdown in its dielectric layer._
11. In film production, a detailed analysis of an upcoming project or screenplay that lists everything it will need, including cast, costumes, equipment, props, and special effects.
   - Simple: A detailed list of everything a film or show will need, such as actors, costumes, props, and special effects.
   - _The line producer's breakdown flagged every special effect the script would demand._
   - _Casting directors work from a breakdown that summarizes each role's requirements._
13. A piece of music played to accompany a breakdown dance, especially a rapid bluegrass tune featuring a five-string banjo. *(dialectal, Southern US)*
   - Simple: A fast piece of music played for a shuffling country dance, often a bluegrass tune with a five-string banjo.
   - _The banjo player tore through a breakdown that left the fiddler racing to keep up._
   - _Their set closed with a blistering breakdown in the key of G._
14. The brief phase of open play immediately following a tackle and continuing before and through the ensuing ruck.
   - Simple: In rugby, the moment of play right after a tackle, when players fight for the loose ball.
   - _The flanker arrived first at the breakdown and ripped the ball free._
   - _Slow ball from the breakdown let the defense reset its line._
15. In a sawmill, the sawing apart of logs with a large saw, or the saw itself, or, rarely, the building where this is done.
   - Simple: The job of cutting up logs with a big saw at a sawmill, or the saw used to do it.
   - _Each breakdown reduced a massive log to a stack of squared timbers._
   - _The mill's old breakdown could rip through a three-foot log in minutes._
16. An injury to a horse's leg severe enough to cause lameness.
   - Simple: An injury to a horse's leg that makes it go lame.
   - _The thoroughbred suffered a breakdown in the final furlong and was pulled up._
   - _Veterinarians rushed onto the track after the breakdown to assess the injured leg._

## Noun

12. A noisy, rapid, shuffling dance performed competitively by individuals or pairs in succession, common among African Americans in the Southern United States, or a lively, chiefly rural gathering at which the dancing is done. *(dated, Southern US)*
   - Simple: A fast, noisy shuffling dance from the rural South, performed competitively in turns, or the lively country party where it happened.
   - _The fiddler struck up a tune and the dancers launched into a furious breakdown._
   - _Couples competed in the breakdown one pair at a time, each trying to outshuffle the last._
17. The collapse of something, such as a building, as it breaks apart. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: An act of a building or other thing breaking apart and falling down.
   - _Witnesses reported the breakdown of the scaffold moments after the storm struck._
   - _The breakdown of the dam left the valley awash within the hour._

## Origin

This noun is formed from the verb phrase "break down."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/breakdown (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).