break down

make a mathematical, chemical, or grammatical analysis of; break down into components or essential features

• “analyze a specimen”
• “analyze a sentence”
• “analyze a chemical compound”

make ineffective

• “Martin Luther King tried to break down racial discrimination”

lose control of one''s emotions

• “When she heard that she had not passed the exam, she lost it completely”
• “When her baby died, she snapped”

stop operating or functioning

• “The engine finally went”
• “The car died on the road”
• “The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town”
• “The coffee maker broke”
• “The engine failed on the way to town”
• “her eyesight went after the accident”

separate (substances) into constituent elements or parts

fall apart

• “the building crimbled after the explosion”
• “Negociations broke down”

cause to fall or collapse

collapse due to fatigue, an illness, or a sudden attack