1
as in classifying
to arrange or assign according to type
when presented with the pile of files, the first thing he did was to break them down by month, order within the month, and region
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in decomposing
to go through decomposition
the enamel of a human tooth will begin to break down when exposed to sugar for too long
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in analyzing
to identify and examine the basic elements or parts of (something) especially for discovering interrelationships
if we break the problem down into what appear to be three aspects of it, we'll have a better chance of solving it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in dying
to stop functioning
the computer finally broke down and had to be replaced
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in melting down
to yield to mental or emotional stress
began to break down when he realized that he was on the verge of bankruptcy
Synonyms & Similar Words
6
as in taking down
to take apart
the crew was breaking down the party tent when we arrived
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
7
as in shattering
to cause to break with violence and much noise
firefighters had to break down the wall to rescue the kitten
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for breaking down
Verb
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The National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint Wednesday against the popular Netflix dating show, classifying its stars as employees and accusing the program of several labor violations.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA TODAY,
13 Dec. 2024 -
Those deaths aren't counted in our statistics, and that's primarily because of the difficulty in classifying those deaths in a disaster.—
Melody Schreiber,
NPR,
13 Dec. 2024
Verb
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This involves scoping out and analyzing where to do fuel reduction, and monitoring smoke after lightning strikes and at campgrounds.—
Dua Anjum,
Rolling Stone,
14 Mar. 2025
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By analyzing the content surrounding an ad rather than individual user data, agents can deliver relevant messaging that feels personal and timely.—
Mike Villalobos,
Forbes,
14 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future is a $10 billion boondoggle that places a very expensive band-aid on a dying public school system.—
Chris Roemer,
Baltimore Sun,
13 Apr. 2025
-
Sporting’s Joaquin Fernandez was lucky to not get sent off in the dying seconds of the opening half.—
Daniel Sperry,
Kansas City Star,
13 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Then came the yacht’s renaissance by her father, who saw beauty and sailing prowess inside a rotting hull.—
Tristan Rutherford,
Robb Report,
3 Jan. 2025
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Rotting Flesh and the Skeleton Underneath Eggers wanted the audience almost to smell the rotting flesh when the sarcophagus is flipped open.—
Chris O'Falt,
IndieWire,
2 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The military men are more distinct, largely because they’re either played by somewhat familiar faces — including Will Poulter, as Captain Erik, the head of the initial operation — or have distinguishing features, like the mustache on Elliott (Cosmo Jarvis), the head sniper.—
Manohla Dargis,
New York Times,
10 Apr. 2025
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With that in mind, Singleton emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between privacy and anonymity.—
Gene Marks,
Forbes.com,
6 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Is dark matter decaying, or is something decaying into dark matter?—
Big Think,
Big Think,
8 Apr. 2025
-
What fill out the episodes instead are extended zombie-battle scenes and long, silent sequences where people explore gorgeously decaying spaces.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
7 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Especially in industries where buying cycles are long and impact is hard to track, marketers face unique challenges when assessing the effectiveness of their efforts.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes,
21 Mar. 2025
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So organizations need to react to this now to ensure everyone understands the procedures and policies around verifying and critically assessing information before acting on it.—
Bernard Marr,
Forbes,
21 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The Millsap school board unanimously accepted the resignation of Superintendent Edie Martin, who was recently arrested and faces a charge related to failing to report abuse of special education students.—
Lina Ruiz,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
25 Mar. 2025
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Having no willingness to pay Tucker and failing to approach pending free agent Framber Valdez this spring about an extension is more emblematic of how the Astros have always conducted business.—
Chandler Rome,
The Athletic,
25 Mar. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Breaking down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breaking%20down. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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