as in dilapidated
in a bad or weak condition because of being old, not well cared for, etc.
A broken-down car was blocking one of the lanes of the road. His body was now broken-down after many years of hard living.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
1
as in separated
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in decomposed
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 cut
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 crashed
to stop functioning
the computer finally broke down and had to be replaced
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in cracked
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 taken down
to take apart
the crew was breaking down the party tent when we arrived
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
7
as in shattered
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
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Recent Examples of broken-down
Jen Guadarrama, IndyStar, 27 Jan. 2026
Here are the top ten states with an overall stress rank in parenthesis, each broken-down by rank order for each of the five dimensions: work stress, financial stress, family stress, health & safety stress and work-life balance rankings.
—Bryan Robinson, Forbes.com, 27 Apr. 2025
Andrew Gebhart, PC Magazine, 5 Apr. 2026
Asphalt is broken down on both sides of the road.
—Kenneth R. Gosselin, Hartford Courant, 5 Apr. 2026
Estimates broken down by city are expected to be released in May.
—Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 30 Mar. 2026
Comedian Charlie Berens also popularized the ritual, joking that it can be broken down into recognizable steps.
—Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 29 Mar. 2026
Even squares or irregular blobs can be broken down into a series of progressively smaller circles and calculated using pi, Davoyan said.
—ABC News, 14 Mar. 2026
Negotiations have been ongoing for years, but trust on both sides has broken down.
—Mihir Sharma, Twin Cities, 8 Mar. 2026
The schedule is broken down by position group and players will be interviewed by teams and media; undergo different physical and mental exams; have their official draft day measurements taken and, maybe most importantly workout for scouts, fans and general mangers.
—Zoe Collins Rath, Austin American Statesman, 22 Feb. 2026
The Herald report found that most of the Proterra buses had broken down within a year of deployment and were pulled from routes as maintenance requests piled up.
—Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 31 Jan. 2026
Adjective
Captain Ron Galaviz, the agency's chief public information officer, reported that there were 632 stuck or broken-down cars, 327 slide-offs and 423 car crashes.
—Jen Guadarrama, IndyStar, 27 Jan. 2026
Here are the top ten states with an overall stress rank in parenthesis, each broken-down by rank order for each of the five dimensions: work stress, financial stress, family stress, health & safety stress and work-life balance rankings.
—Bryan Robinson, Forbes.com, 27 Apr. 2025
Verb
Other screens show muscle and fat broken down by body part in both a chart and a full-body diagram.
—Andrew Gebhart, PC Magazine, 5 Apr. 2026
Asphalt is broken down on both sides of the road.
—Kenneth R. Gosselin, Hartford Courant, 5 Apr. 2026
Estimates broken down by city are expected to be released in May.
—Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 30 Mar. 2026
Comedian Charlie Berens also popularized the ritual, joking that it can be broken down into recognizable steps.
—Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 29 Mar. 2026
Even squares or irregular blobs can be broken down into a series of progressively smaller circles and calculated using pi, Davoyan said.
—ABC News, 14 Mar. 2026
Negotiations have been ongoing for years, but trust on both sides has broken down.
—Mihir Sharma, Twin Cities, 8 Mar. 2026
The schedule is broken down by position group and players will be interviewed by teams and media; undergo different physical and mental exams; have their official draft day measurements taken and, maybe most importantly workout for scouts, fans and general mangers.
—Zoe Collins Rath, Austin American Statesman, 22 Feb. 2026
The Herald report found that most of the Proterra buses had broken down within a year of deployment and were pulled from routes as maintenance requests piled up.
—Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 31 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for broken-down
Adjective
-
Longtime Oak Lawn Village Board member Timothy Desmond has resigned from his post to enter into a contract with the village through his home building company to restore dilapidated properties, with the goal of putting them back on the tax rolls.—
Olivia Stevens,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Apr. 2026
-
The newborn lived in a dank and dilapidated enclosure alongside seven other lions, including his parents, Kim and Carl, said Rebecca Aldworth, executive director of Humane World for Animals Canada, whose organization helped shut down the zoo and rescue the lions.—
Andrea Sachs,
Washington Post,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Fine jewelry has been separated from the trashy costume stuff.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
29 Apr. 2026
-
The first six cars of the train were separated from the rest and continued on to Penn.—
Evan Simko-Bednarski,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Her body was so badly decomposed; no DNA swab could be taken.—
Mary Murphy,
CBS News,
26 Apr. 2026
-
The body was decomposed and dismembered.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
When the Broncos cut Greenlaw, the 49ers wasted no time in bringing him back to pair with middle linebacker Fred Warner in hopes of reviving one of the NFL’s top linebacker tandems.—
Jerry McDonald,
Mercury News,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Jacksonville general manager James Gladstone and coach Liam Coen cut their teeth as part of the Rams organization, learning from GM Les Snead and coach Sean McVay.—
Mark Long,
The Orlando Sentinel,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Zevik Glidai, a 78-year-old math teacher and volunteer ambulance driver, discovered coils of the translucent fiber-optic cables surrounding a drone that crashed into his backyard in the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona on April 13.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
30 Apr. 2026
-
About 10 seconds later, the Tesla ran the red light at the intersection and crashed into the Dodge.—
Angie DiMichele,
Sun Sentinel,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Four men have been arrested and charged in the 1982 rape and murder of 16-year-old Roxanne Sharp — a case that went cold for more than four decades before DNA testing and a true-crime podcast cracked it open.—
Jeremy Mikula,
NBC news,
26 Apr. 2026
-
The physicality ramped up early in the second period when the B’s fourth line flexed their muscle and cracked Lyon.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Pepper is arrested and committed to New Hyde Psychiatric Hospital rather than being taken down to a police station.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The assailant had been taken down by the Secret Service and was in custody.—
Antonia Hitchens,
New Yorker,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
She was spurred in part by the election of Kurt Waldheim as president of Austria in 1986; revelations of his Nazi past shattered the myth that the country had been an innocent victim of Hitler.—
Ben Davis,
The New York Review of Books,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Bullets shattered a glass refrigerator door behind Marquise, who fell to the ground right next to the store’s counter.—
Rebecca White,
New York Daily News,
25 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Broken-down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/broken-down. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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