Толковый словарь английского языка

1. [uncountable and countable] the failure of a relationship or system

breakdown of

He moved away after the breakdown of his marriage.

A sudden rise in oil prices could lead to a breakdown of the economy.

breakdown in

There has been a serious breakdown in relations between the two countries.

marriage/marital/family breakdown

Family breakdown can lead to behavioural problems in children.

2. [countable] a serious medical condition in which someone becomes mentally ill and is unable to work or deal with ordinary situations in life:

I was worried he might have a breakdown if he carried on working so hard.

Two years ago he suffered a mental breakdown.

She had already had one nervous breakdown.

3. [countable] an occasion when a car or a piece of machinery breaks and stops working:

Always carry a phone with you in case you have a breakdown on the motorway.

breakdown in

a breakdown in the cooling system

4. [countable] a list of all the separate parts of something

breakdown of

Can you give us a breakdown of the figures?

5. [singular] the changing of a substance into other substances:

the breakdown of glucose in the body to release energy ⇨ break down at ↑break¹

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COLLOCATIONS

■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + breakdown

▪ marriage/marital breakdown problems caused by the increase in marital breakdown

▪ family breakdown A growing proportion of children are affected by family breakdown.

▪ communication breakdown (=when people do not talk or are unable to talk) The misunderstanding was the result of a communication breakdown.

▪ complete/total breakdown The disagreement finally led to a complete breakdown of their relationship.

▪ irretrievable breakdown formal (=one that is impossible to put right again) The irretrievable breakdown of a marriage may be grounds for divorce.

■ verbs

▪ cause/lead to a breakdown Money problems often cause marriage breakdown.