| Principal Translations |
WordReference English-Spanish Dictionary © 2026:
| break down vi phrasal | (machine: stop working) | averiarse⇒ v prnl |
| | | romperse⇒ v prnl |
| Note: The single-word form is used when the term is a noun. |
| | The car broke down on the way home. |
| | El auto se averió camino a casa. |
| break down vi phrasal | figurative (person: cry) | ponerse a llorar, romper a llorar loc verb |
| | | largarse a llorar loc verb |
| | (PR) | desmelenarse⇒ v prnl |
| | Stella broke down when the police told her about her husband's accident. |
| | Stella se puso a llorar cuando la policía le contó sobre el accidente de su marido. |
| break down vi phrasal | figurative (collapse, become weak) | colapsar⇒ vi |
| | | hundirse⇒ v prnl |
| | | desmoronarse⇒, derrumbarse⇒ v prnl |
| | The union called a strike after talks broke down over retirement benefits. |
| | El sindicato llamó a una huelga luego de que las negociaciones sobre las jubilaciones colapsaran. |
break [sth] down,
break down [sth] vtr phrasal sep | (door, wall: knock down) (puertas, paredes) | tirar abajo loc verb |
| | | echar abajo loc verb |
| | | derribar⇒ vtr |
| | The police broke down the door when they raided the house. |
| | La policía tiró abajo la puerta cuando allanaron la casa. |
break [sth] down,
break down [sth] vtr phrasal sep | (substance: disintegrate) | descomponer⇒ vtr |
| | Stomach acid breaks down food during digestion. |
| | Los ácidos estomacales descomponen la comida durante la digestión. |
break [sth] down,
break down [sth] vtr phrasal sep | figurative (analyze) (analizar) | descomponer⇒ vtr |
| | | desglosar⇒ vtr |
| | | analizar⇒ vtr |
| | We can break down the process into a number of separate stages. |
| | Podemos descomponer el proceso en un número de etapas separadas. |