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# breakdown

«breakdown» in Mova's school dictionary: **When a machine or vehicle stops working: our car had a…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 2 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a breakdown, breakdowns)

### meaning for a pupil

1) When a machine or vehicle stops working: our car had a breakdown on the motorway. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/breakdown/#m1)

2) When something fails or ends: a breakdown in talks. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/breakdown/#m2)

3) A list that shows the separate parts of a total: a breakdown of the costs. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/breakdown/#m3)

4) (euphemism, informal) A nervous breakdown: a time when someone becomes very ill with stress and cannot cope. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/breakdown/#m4)

5) (science) The splitting of a substance into smaller parts: the breakdown of food. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/breakdown/#m5)

### sense in the lessons

In maths a breakdown shows how a total is split, for example a bill broken into food, drinks and tips; a table or pie chart can give it. In science, digestion is the breakdown of food. In safety, pupils learn what to do if the family car has a breakdown. Phrases: break down (verb), breakdown truck, breakdown of costs, breakdown in communication.

### examples

- We waited an hour for the breakdown truck. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/breakdown/#x1)
- Here is a breakdown of the trip's costs: coach 200, tickets 150, lunch 50. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/breakdown/#x2)
- Enzymes help the breakdown of food in the stomach. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/breakdown/#x3)
- There was a breakdown in communication, so nobody brought the ball. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/breakdown/#x4)
- (euphemism) After months of stress, he had a breakdown and took time off work. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/breakdown/#x5)
- If the car has a breakdown on a motorway, everyone gets out and waits behind the barrier. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/breakdown/#x6)

### note

Noun written as one word (a breakdown); the verb is two words (to break down). In maths, the parts of a breakdown must add up to the total: 200 + 150 + 50 = 400. Talking about someone's breakdown needs kindness.

### In the corpora

- [On a motorway, after a breakdown everyone gets out and waits behind the barrier, away from the traffic.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/12-cars-chores-and-the-shopping-list/8/)
- ["Nervous exhaustion" is an old-fashioned phrase for a mental breakdown.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/5-drink-mind-and-body/20/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «breakdown» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/breakdown/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.