break down
verb, noun
break down is spelled B-R-E-A-K-D-O-W-N: 9 letters. People search “break-down vs breakdown” about 480 times a month (Google, United States). As a verb, break down means “To stop functioning” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in break down?
| Letters | 9: B-R-E-A-K-D-O-W-N |
|---|---|
| In writing | a phrase: the frequency list counts single words |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you pronounce break down?
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-VCcortex-break_down.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-break_down.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with break down
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: breakdown (one word or two).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of break down
- breaks down present, singular, he/she/it
- breaking down participle, present
- broke down past, informal, participle
- broken down participle, past
- break downs plural
- break-downs plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does break down mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To stop functioning.
I am afraid my computer will break down if I try to run it at too high a speed.
- 2
To unexpectedly collapse, physically or in structure.
- 3
To intentionally demolish; to pull down.
- 4
To fail, especially socially or for political reasons.
Talks broke down between Prime Minister John Doe and the opposition party.
- 5
To give in or give up: relent, concede, surrender.
Is it worth taking it to a repair shop, or should I just break down and buy a new one?
- 6
To render or to become unstable due to stress, to collapse physically or mentally.
Near-synonym: come undone
- 7
To render or to become weak and ineffective.
His authority and influence over his coordinates broke down gradually.
- 8
To (cause to) decay, to decompose.
Leaves and grass will break down into compost faster if you keep them moist.
noun
- 1
Alternative form of breakdown.
noun
- 1
Alternative form of breakdown.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Break down in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | tomber en panne , craquer , se décomposer , analyser, décomposer |
| German | versagen, den Geist aufgeben , abstürzen, sich aufhängen, hängen , liegenbleiben |
| Spanish | descomponerse, averiarse, romperse, malograrse , fallar |
| Portuguese | despedaçar , decompor , cessar , inutilizar, debilitar , digerir |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.