- Demolish or destroy, physically or figuratively. 2. Separate into parts; analyze. 3. Stop functioning. 4. Become distressed; have a physical or mental collapse.
Examples:
- After seeing all his work come to nothing, he broke down and had to be treated by a psychiatrist.
Origin: sense 1 late 1300s; senses 3–4 mid-to-late 1800s