break down (
http://definr.com/break down)
v 1: make a mathematical, chemical, or grammatical analysis of;
break down into components or essential features;
"analyze a specimen"; "analyze a sentence"; "analyze a
chemical compound" [syn:
analyze,
analyse,
dissect,
take apart] [ant:
synthesize]
2: make ineffective; "Martin Luther King tried to break down
racial discrimination" [syn:
crush]
3: lose control of one's emotions; "When she heard that she had
not passed the exam, she lost it completely" [syn: {lose
it}]
4: stop operating or functioning; "The engine finally went";
"The car died on the road"; "The bus we travelled in broke
down on the way to town"; "The coffee maker broke"; "The
engine failed on the way to town"; "her eyesight went
after the accident" [syn:
fail,
go bad,
give way,
die,
give out,
conk out,
go,
break]
5: separate into constituent elements or parts, as of chemical
substances [syn:
decompose,
break up]
6: fall apart; also used metaphorically: "Negociations broke
down" [syn:
crumble,
crumple,
tumble,
collapse]
7: cause to fall or collapse
8: collapse due to fatigue, an illness, or a sudden attack
[syn:
collapse]