Phrasal Verb: Break Down

to stop working

Examples

• The car broke down.

Key rules

• Break down means stop working because of a fault
• It is intransitive for machines: the car broke down
• It can also mean lose control emotionally
• It is separable when it means divide into parts: break the task down

Common mistakes

• The car broke → The car broke down
• She broke the task → She broke the task down (into parts)