0 a failure to work or be successful: --
2 a nervous breakdown --
3 a mechanical failure, or a failure in a system or a relationship: --
4 a division of information into parts that belong together: --
We need a breakdown of the statistics into age groups.
5 a condition in which you are unable to control thoughts or feelings that prevent you from living and working as you usually do: --
It's about a middle-aged New York cop who is having a nervous breakdown.
He warned that the breakdown of the family unit would lead to an impoverished society.
An immediate effect of the war was a breakdown of law and order.
Some children were well brought up, despite family breakdown, he admitted.
The breakdown in negotiations will be seen as a step backwards.