Breakdown

How to spell breakdown

9 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce breakdown

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does breakdown mean?

1. nounA failure or collapse of a machine, system, or process that stops it working.
2. nounA detailed analysis that separates something into its component parts.
3. nounA sudden collapse of a person's mental or emotional health.

Breakdown in a sentence

• A sudden breakdown left the delivery van stranded on the motorway.

• The accountant sent a full breakdown of the monthly expenses.

• The relentless workload pushed her toward a nervous breakdown.

• The factory suffered a complete breakdown of its production line.

• The report includes a breakdown of sales by region.

• He took several months off work to recover from a breakdown.

Where does breakdown come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a native English compound, joining the verb 'break' with the adverb 'down'. 'Break' descends from Old English 'brecan', meaning to shatter or come apart, a word with deep Germanic roots shared with Dutch 'breken' and German 'brechen'. 'Down' comes from Old English 'dune', a shortening of 'adune', meaning from the hill or to a lower place. The phrasal verb 'break down' was in use for centuries before the single-word noun settled in during the 1800s, first describing machinery that had failed and stopped working. From that mechanical sense the meaning branched outward to a collapse of health or composure (a nervous breakdown) and to the idea of separating something into its parts, as in a breakdown of costs. Because it is a transparent two-part compound, the spelling holds no silent letters or doubled consonants, which makes it one of the gentler words to write from memory.

How the word is built

• break (Old English brecan: to break)
• down (adverb of direction); a compound noun