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Breakdown - 6 dictionary results

break⋅down

  [breyk-doun]
Use Breakdown in a Sentence
–noun
1. a breaking down, wearing out, or sudden loss of ability to function efficiently, as of a machine.
2. a loss of mental or physical health; collapse. Compare nervous breakdown.
3. an analysis or classification of something; division into parts, categories, processes, etc.
4. Chemistry.
a. decomposition.
b. analysis (def. 7).
5. Electricity. an electric discharge passing through faulty insulation or other material used to separate circuits or passing between electrodes in a vacuum or gas-filled tube.
6. a noisy, lively folk dance.
Origin:
1825–35; n. use of v. phrase break down
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Breakdown
break·down   (brāk'doun')   
n.  
    1. The act or process of failing to function or continue.
    2. The condition resulting from this: a breakdown in communication.
  2. Electricity The abrupt failure of an insulator or insulating medium to restrict the flow of current.
  3. A typically sudden collapse in physical or mental health.
  4. An analysis, an outline, or a summary consisting of itemized data or essentials.
  5. Disintegration or decomposition into parts or elements.
  6. A noisy, energetic American country dance.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Breakdown

Break"down`\, n. 1. The act or result of breaking down, as of a carriage; downfall.

2. (a) A noisy, rapid, shuffling dance engaged in competitively by a number of persons or pairs in succession, as among the colored people of the Southern United States, and so called, perhaps, because the exercise is continued until most of those who take part in it break down. (b) Any rude, noisy dance performed by shuffling the feet, usually by one person at a time. [U.S.]

Don't clear out when the quadrilles are over, for we are going to have a breakdown to wind up with. --New Eng. Tales.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : Breakdown
Spanish: colapso, crisis nerviosa,
German: der Zusammenbruch,
Japanese: 神経衰弱
More Translations »

Main Entry: 1break·down
Pronunciation: 'brAk-"daun
Function: noun
: the action or result of breaking down: as a : afailure to function b : a physical, mental, or nervous collapse c : the process of decomposing <breakdown of food during digestion>

Main Entry: 2breakdown
Function: adjective
: obtained or resulting from disintegration or decomposition of a substance breakdown product ofhemoglobin>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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breakdown break·down (brāk'doun')
n.

  1. The act or process of failing to function or continue.
  2. A typically sudden collapse in physical or mental health.
  3. Disintegration or decomposition into parts or elements.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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