Breakdown or Break Down – How to Use Each Correctly

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Breakdown vs. Break down – What’s the Gist?

The difference between these two words is knowing whether you need a noun or a verb.

  • Breakdown functions as a noun, also called a substantive.
  • Break down functions as a verb phrase, also called a predicate.

Having the correct term boils down to how the word is being used in the sentence.

breakdown versus break down

How to Use Breakdown in a Sentence

Breakdown definition: As a noun, the word breakdown (all-one-word) means a failure to function; a failure to be effective; a mental, physical, or nervous collapse; or a division of categories.

For example:

  • After experiencing a transmission breakdown, the driver sat immobile on the side of the road. (Noun)
  • There was a breakdown in communication during the negotiations. (Noun)
  • Because she experienced one challenge after another, the woman had an emotional breakdown. (Noun)

If you are looking for a noun, use the term that is all-one-word: breakdown.

How to Use Break down in a Sentence

Break down definition: On the other hand, when this term break down is separated into two words, it functions as both a transitive and an intransitive verb.

As a transitive verb, which passes action and needs a direct object, break down means to cause to collapse by breaking; or to separate into simpler substances; or to take apart for storage/shipment.

For example:

  • His poor driving broke down the transmission. (Past Tense Verb)
  • During chemistry class, the professor will break down the chemicals to their most simple substances. (Future Tense Verb)
  • The assembly workers break down the desk parts into five pieces for ease in shipment. (Present Tense Verb)

As an intransitive verb, which expresses action rather than passes action, break down means to stop functioning; to fail in vitality; to lose one’s resolve; to undergo decomposition.

For example:

  • The car breaks down weekly. (Present Tense Verb)
  • Her countenance broke down into tears. (Past Tense Verb)
  • The mother broke down by giving into her daughter’s tantrum. (Past Tense Verb)

Outside Examples of Breakdown vs. Break down

  • But Marylue had no way to get to Kakaako quickly. A van was shuttling homeless people to shelters and to Kakaako Mauka Gateway Park, but a communication breakdown prevented the van from getting to Ala Moana Regional Park. –Honolulu Star-Advertiser
  • “People have a little lack of confidence that if something big and bad happens, that 911 might not work. We saw it with Katrina,” Mr. Hyatt said, referring to the breakdown in emergency response after the 2005 hurricane on the Gulf Coast. “People haven’t forgotten that a disaster happened, and the government didn’t come.” –The New York Times
  • “Baby wipes, even though some of them say they’re biodegradable, they really aren’t,” Sullivan said. “Those are one of the No. 1 causes of a backup in plumbing systems — baby wipes and paper towels. Paper towels are pretty tough. They’re designed to absorb spills, but they’re not designed like toilet paper, which is supposed to break down as soon as it hits water. They have a tendency to clump up and that causes problems.” –Chicago Tribune
  • I’m old-school, too, but I guess not as concerned about security. I keep my photos on the cloud. I used to store everything on my computer and my wife’s computer, but then one day her disk drive broke down. I thought I had been backing her stuff up to Time Machine, but that broke down as well, by the time I got to it, and we lost all of her digital photos. –The Wall Street Journal

Phrases That Use Breakdown and Break down

There are a few common phrases for the word breakdown or break down, including:

I’m having a nervous breakdown: Someone is expressing that he/she is emotionally falling apart either literally or figuratively.

  • After receiving the notice that he lost his job, the worker told his wife, “I am about to have a nervous breakdown.”

Break down and cry: When someone finally allows himself/herself to experience the pent-up emotional turmoil by releasing those feelings through crying.

  • After realizing that her toddler was going to be fine, the mother broke down and cried.

Break it down: To subdivide categories into steps for simplification or understanding.

  • While explaining the geometry proof, the math instructor said to the student, “Let me break it down for you.”

How to Remember These Words

Although these two words are spelled nearly alike, the similarities end there. Because they have different functions in a sentence, they are not interchangeable.

One way to remember how to keep these two words straight is to keep the spelling in mind.

The noun breakdown is all-one-word and refers to one thing. On the other hand, the predicate break down is actually a verb phrase because it has more than one word.

Quiz: Breakdown or Break down

  1. After receiving the distressing news, the doctor had a major _______.
  2. The toddler _______ after hearing the word, “No.”
  3. Teaching her children how to do the dishes, the mother _______ the process into steps.
  4. An argument ensued after the _______ in communication occurred.

Article Summary

Is breakdown or break down correct? These two heteronyms are easily confused. If you need a noun, choose the word breakdown. If you need a verb, use break down.

  • Breakdown functions primarily as a noun.
  • Break down is a verb phrase.

Quiz Answers

  1. Breakdown
  2. Broke down
  3. Broke down
  4. Breakdown