breakdown

/ˌbreɪkˈdaʊn/

/ˈbreɪkdaʊn/

Other forms: breakdowns

Definitions of breakdown

1. noun

   the act of disrupting an established order so it fails to continue
   “his warning came after the breakdown of talks in London”

   synonyms: dislocation

   type of:

   disruption, perturbation

   the act of causing disorder
2. noun

   a cessation of normal operation
   “there was a power breakdown”

   synonyms: equipment failure

   types:

   brake failure

   brakes fail to stop a vehicle

   engine failure

   engine does not run

   dud, misfire

   an explosion that fails to occur

   outage

   a temporary suspension of operation (as of computers)

   power failure, power outage

   equipment failure resulting when the supply of power fails

   fault

   (electronics) equipment failure attributable to some defect in a circuit (loose connection or insulation failure or short circuit etc.)

   blackout

   the failure of electric power for a general region

   flame-out

   the failure of a jet engine caused by an interruption of the fuel supply or by faulty combustion

   type of:

   failure

   an event that does not accomplish its intended purpose
3. noun

   a mental or physical breakdown
   synonyms: crack-up

   types:

   nervous breakdown

   a severe or incapacitating emotional disorder

   nervous exhaustion, nervous prostration

   an emotional disorder that leaves you exhausted and unable to work

   neurasthenia

   nervous breakdown (not in technical use)

   type of:

   collapse, prostration

   an abrupt failure of function or complete physical exhaustion
4. noun

   an analysis into mutually exclusive categories
   synonyms: partitioning

   types:

   resolution, resolving

   analysis into clear-cut components

   factoring, factorisation, factorization

   (mathematics) the resolution of an entity into factors such that when multiplied together they give the original entity

   diagonalisation, diagonalization

   changing a square matrix to diagonal form (with all non-zero elements on the principal diagonal)

   type of:

   analysis, analytic thinking

   the abstract separation of a whole into its constituent parts in order to study the parts and their relations