Break down means to stop working, about a car, a lift or a household appliance. The second common meaning is to divide something into parts or list it point by point: break down a task, break down the costs.
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car/lift/machine + breaks down; break down + task/costs + into + parts; break + it + down
- Our bus broke down on the way to the airport, and we nearly missed our flight.
- The washing machine broke down again, so we called a repair service.
- The teacher broke the long text down into short sections for the class.
What changed
First versionSorry I'm late, my car broke on the way to work.
RevisionSorry I'm late, my car broke down on the way to work.
Broke on its own may seem enough, but when a car stops working and gets stuck on the road, English usually says broke down. Plain break is more often used when something smashes, cracks or tears.
Break is used both for faults and for things that get smashed: I dropped my phone and broke the screen. Break down is specifically about cars and machines that stop working: The printer broke down in the middle of the day. You can't say that a cup broke down.
Your turn
The lift ___ again this morning, so everyone had to take the stairs.
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broke down — The lift stopped working and people had to walk, so broke down fits. Broke up is used about couples separating or groups splitting, not about machines.
Think of a time when a car or bus stopped working on a journey, or an appliance at home failed. Say what exactly went wrong and how you managed.
Last winter our car broke down near a small village, so we took a taxi and left the car with a local mechanic.
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