usage: make ineffective; "Martin Luther King tried to break down racial discrimination"
2. analyze, analyse, break down, dissect, take apart
usage: make a mathematical, chemical, or grammatical analysis of; break down into components or essential features; "analyze a specimen"; "analyze a sentence"; "analyze a chemical compound"
3. break down, lose it, snap, act, behave, do
usage: lose control of one's emotions; "When she heard that she had not passed the exam, she lost it completely"; "When her baby died, she snapped"
4. fail, go bad, give way, die, give out, conk out, go, break, break down, change
usage: stop operating or functioning; "The engine finally went"; "The car died on the road"; "The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town"; "The coffee maker broke"; "The engine failed on the way to town"; "her eyesight went after the accident"