Nearby Words

Breakdown

[breyk-doun] Origin

break·down

[breyk-doun]
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.
b.
analysis (def. 6).
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.
EXPAND
6.
a noisy, lively folk dance.
COLLAPSE

Origin:
1825–35; noun use of verb phrase break down
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To Breakdown

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Breakdown is always a great word to know.
So is titanic. Does it mean:
a colorless, pungent, suffocating, highly water-soluble, gaseous compound, NH3, usually produced by the combination of nitrogen and hydrogen gases
of or containing titanium, especially in the tetravalent state or three valence state
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

breakdown
"a collapse," 1832, from break + down. The verbal phrase is attested from late 14c. The noun, specifically of machinery, is from 1838; meaning "an analysis in detail" is from 1936. Nervous breakdown is from 1905.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

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.
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature