An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'break down' from a native speaker, with lots of example sentences
Hello and welcome to this instalment of Phrasal Verbs Explained; a blog which aims to help you understand English phrasal verbs in a clear and coherent way, so that you can use them to improve your language level and sound more like a native speaker.
In today's post, we are looking at the phrasal verb 'break down', which is very common as both a phrasal verb and a noun. We will take a look at both of these in this post and for each of the different meanings that it has, I will give you lots of example sentences in context to help you understand, learn and use them. So, without further ado, let's get started....
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BREAK DOWN: KEY INFORMATION For an explanation of the terms in the table, click here
Usage | Common |
Number of meanings | 6 |
Past tense forms | Broke down / broken down |
Separable? | Yes |
THE BASICS
Before we dive into the different idiomatic meanings of 'break down', it is always a good idea to look at the individual words which form it.
Firstly, we have the verb "to break", which is a common verb that has a few different meanings, however the main idea of the verb 'to break' means to stop something working, functioning or existing as it did before. This can be something physical such as a cell phone or a leg, or it can be something abstract such as a promise or an agreement.
We then have the prepositional particle 'down', which as an adverb means to be in a lower position or place ⬇️ and as a preposition means to move from a higher place to a lower place.
So, now we have that part out of the way, let's look at the different idiomatic meanings that we have when we combine these words to form our phrasal verb 'break down'.
MEANING 1: To stop working
CEFR Language Level | B1 - Intermediate |
Usage | Common |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Separable? | No |
Potential synonyms | To break |
The first meaning of 'break down' that we will look at in this post is that which means to stop working or functioning. This is used specifically for machinery, equipment and vehicles.
Nouns commonly used with this application.... Car Train / Bus / Airplane Machine Elevator / Lift Vehicle |
In my native speaker brain, this is the first meaning that I think of when I think about the phrasal verb 'break down'. This is probably because it is the most commonly used of all the meanings that we will look at in the post.
To be even more specific, you will hear people using this application most commonly in reference to cars that have developed a fault and stopped working. This is normally in the middle of a journey a long way from the person's home and so there is often an element of drama or at least a good story to be told. I was once riding a quad bike that broke down in the middle of the countryside on a Greek island and instead of spending the day relaxing on the beach as I had planned, I spent it trying to get the problem resolved and get back to the hotel 🤦🏻♂️....have you ever had any funny experiences breaking down somewhere? Let me know in the comments!
Of course, it is not just cars that break down and this usage can also be applied to any vehicles with an engine. Moreover, we use 'break down' to talk about machines that stop functioning too
Help! My car has broken down on the side of the freeway!
The President's airplane broke down and had to be repaired, so was two hours later departing.
The elevator has broken down again; we'll have to take the stairs.
We were stranded in the middle of nowhere when the bus suddenly broke down.
Our washing machine has broken down and now we have to do our laundry by hand.
Kevin's laptop broke down right before the big presentation, so he had to borrow someone else's.
If the air conditioning breaks down during summer, it gets unbearable in this heat.
One more thing to note here is that the past particle form 'broken-down' is regularly used by native speakers as an adjective to describe a vehicle that is out of order.
There is a broken-down vehicle on the side of the road next to the bridge.
Engineers were called out to repair the broken-down train.
MEANING 2: To make into smaller parts
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper Intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To divide, to split, to break up |
Separable? | Yes |
For this second meaning, imagine that you have a really big project that you are working on, which will involve a lot of time and effort. In order to work on this project in an efficient way, it is often a good strategy to separate it into smaller tasks, which you can then work on methodically, in order to complete the main project. Another way of describing this action is to break it down into smaller tasks and that is precisely what the second meaning of 'break down' is.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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If we put it another way, this application of 'break down' means to take something large or complex and make (or break) it into smaller parts, so that it can be dealt with or managed more easily and efficiently.
Typical usage of this second meaning of 'break down' is with complex questions, big projects and procedures, in other words things that contain many different parts and sections.
In addition, it is also possible to physically break something down into smaller pieces, e.g a cardboard box or some flatpack furniture.
Note that when using this meaning we require the additional preposition 'into' followed by the noun to describe the smaller parts that are the end result of the 'breaking down' process.
In order to effectively answer this complex question, we need to break it down into smaller subsections.
The process will be a lot smoother if you can break it down into small and manageable steps.
I had to break the large box down into smaller pieces, so that it would fit inside bin.
The teacher broke down the complex topic into smaller sections, so the students could understand it better.
Can you break down this report into bullet points for easier reading?
Let’s break down the project into manageable tasks to make it less overwhelming.
The data was too complicated, so Linda broke it down into simple graphs and charts.
Emma broke the recipe down into step-by-step instructions for beginners.
MEANING 3: To disintegrate to nothing
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To disintegrate, to rot, to decompose |
Separable? | Yes |
Our third meaning of 'break down' is very similar to the second meaning that we have just looked at and also means that something gets smaller. The difference here however is that in this meaning the pieces continue to get smaller and smaller until they disappear or stop existing.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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This meaning is normally one that you will hear in scientific language as it is used for things like chemicals, proteins and elements.
Another key difference between this third meaning and the second meaning is that there is no direct object here as nobody is making or causing the thing to break down - it happens naturally or at least without human intervention.
We can also use this to describe the sometimes unpleasant but totally natural process of decomposition or rotting that happens to all living things after they die.
Proteins breaks down into glucose in the body.
Plastic breaks down in the oceans, however it is an extremely long process.
The dead leaves will eventually break down and enrich the soil with nutrients.
Scientists are studying new ways to help biodegradable materials break down faster.
Over time, the old wooden fence began to break down due to constant exposure to rain and sunlight.
MEANING 4: To fail
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To collapse, fail |
Separable? | No |
For meaning number four of the phrasal verb 'break down', we are returning again to the core meaning of the verb 'to break', as well as the first meaning that we looked at. Like both of these, this fourth usage also means to stop functioning, but the difference here is that we are not talking about physical objects, but rather abstract ideas and concepts.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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It is extremely common to use 'break down' in this way with abstract nouns such as relationships, discussions, and negotiations when they fail, are not successful or do not work out as originally planned.
Discussions between the two political parties broke down on the second day and abruptly ended.
Helen and John's marriage broke down when he found out that she had been carrying on with Lisa.
The peace talks broke down when neither side was willing to compromise.
Our business negotiations broke down due to disagreements over pricing.
The discussion broke down after tempers flared and both parties started arguing.
The communication broke down between Andy and Simon, and eventually, their friendship faded away.
MEANING 5: To remove an obstruction with force
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Common |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To knock down, to remove, to demolish |
Separable? | Yes |
The next meaning that we are going to look at of the phrasal verb 'break down' is reserved especially for obstacles and barriers. If we have something that stands in our way and which we cannot get past, it is possible to use 'break down', to mean to demolish or reduce the barrier by using force, in order to remove it, thus clearing the way for us to continue.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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This is often used with physical nouns such as walls, barriers and doors, however it can also be used with abstract barriers such as barriers in society for people who are repressed in some way.
The police broke down the door to Roger's apartment.
The firefighters had to break down the door to rescue the trapped residents.
The soldiers broke down the enemy’s defenses with heavy artillery.
She is a trailblazer who has broken down many barriers for women in her industry over the last 40 years.
MEANING 6: To start crying
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper Intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To cry |
Separable? | No |
Our sixth and final meaning of 'break down' means to start crying or to become emotional.
This is something that we tend to use more for adults, rather than children, as I think it is used more to describe when a person loses control of their emotions due to a stressful or unpleasant experience in their life and it conveys a level of seriousness that we don't always associate with children crying.
We do not always use it for sad crying, however it can also equally be used for when we start crying because we are overcome with happy emotions.
This form of 'break down' is intransitive and does not have a direct object, so if you hear in a conversation that a person has broken down with no immediate object afterwards, you can be certain that the person is crying or emotional.
It is also common to hear the expression 'to break down in tears', however 'break down' on its own is fine to use.
Is Steve ok? He just broke down in the middle of the office!
John broke down in tears of joy when his son was born.
The emotional speech made Janet break down in front of the audience.
Luke tried to stay strong, but eventually, he broke down when he realised what had happened.
Barbara broke down after hearing the heart-wrenching details of the tragedy.
EXTRA TIPS TO SOUND MORE LIKE A NATIVE SPEAKER
You may remember that at the start of the post I mentioned that 'breakdown' is also commonly used as a noun in English.
When using it as a noun, we treat it as one word and the pronunciation is slightly different to when we use it in its phrasal verb form. When used as a noun, native speakers put slightly more stress on 'break' and less on 'down' than they do for the phrasal verb form, in which both parts have a similar level of word stress. See the video below to hear the pronunciation:
Used as a noun, breakdown is commonly used to talk about cars which have broken down, relationships or negotiations which have failed and you may also have heard of nervous breakdowns, which refer to when people become overwhelmed by stress in their lives. It should be noted that a nervous breakdown is not classed as an official medical term in English and may be referred to by health officials as a 'mental health crisis' instead.
Do you have adequate breakdown insurance cover for your car?
A breakdown in negotiations occurred as neither side was willing to change their mind and reach a compromise.
John is sending me a breakdown of all of the supplier costs from the last month.
SAY IT LIKE A NATIVE: TYPICAL EXAMPLES OF HOW 'BREAK DOWN' IS USED
If you can memorise some of the below and use them in a conversation, it will help your English to come across as more natural and like that of a native speaker. You'll need to use your imagination to complete some of them.
My car has broken down!
Let me break it down for you.
We need to break the [noun] down into manageable steps.
The police broke down the doors.
[Person] has broken down many barriers in society.
[Person] broke down in tears when....
[Person] broke down in tears in front of....
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