Synonyms of breaking down

breaking down

verb

present participle of break down

1

as in classifying

to arrange or assign according to type

when presented with the pile of files, the first thing he did was to break them down by month, order within the month, and region

Synonyms & Similar Words

• classifying
• ranking
• distinguishing
• grouping
• relegating
• typing
• separating
• distributing
• sorting
• grading
• placing
• categorizing
• filing
• listing
• identifying
• organizing
• ranging
• digesting
• drawing up
• recognizing
• codifying
• classing
• compartmenting
• pegging
• assorting
• compartmentalizing
• referring
• ordering
• disposing
• alphabetizing
• culling
• cataloging
• cataloguing
• marshalling
• indexing
• systematizing
• shelving
• marshaling
• arraying
• sifting
• screening
• sieving
• clustering
• winnowing
• clumping
• colligating
• reclassifying
• regrouping
• pigeonholing
• setting
• subcategorizing
• recategorizing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• mixing (up)
• scrambling
• confusing
• lumping
• disarranging
• jumbling
• misclassifying
• mistyping
• missorting
• mis-sorting

2

as in decomposing

to go through decomposition

the enamel of a human tooth will begin to break down when exposed to sugar for too long

Synonyms & Similar Words

• decomposing
• rotting
• decaying
• disintegrating
• falling apart
• running to seed
• going to seed
• molding
• perishing
• festering
• putrefying
• corrupting
• spoiling
• deteriorating
• descending
• fouling
• moldering
• crumbling
• turning off
• turning
• contaminating
• polluting
• souring
• rusting
• fermenting
• tainting
• defiling
• mortifying
• curdling
• degenerating
• declining
• sinking
• withering
• addling
• dilapidating

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• growing
• developing
• aging
• maturing
• ripening
• ageing
• restoring
• renewing
• refreshing
• cleansing
• purifying
• integrating
• improving
• assembling
• composing
• ameliorating
• bettering
• meliorating

3

as in analyzing

to identify and examine the basic elements or parts of (something) especially for discovering interrelationships

if we break the problem down into what appear to be three aspects of it, we'll have a better chance of solving it

Synonyms & Similar Words

• analyzing
• dissecting
• assessing
• examining
• diagnosing
• investigating
• cutting
• evaluating
• dividing
• deconstructing
• assaying
• inspecting
• anatomizing
• scrutinizing
• schematizing
• reducing
• sorting
• classifying
• separating
• cataloguing
• indexing
• arranging
• ordering
• categorizing
• tabulating
• subdividing
• codifying
• cataloging
• enumerating
• diagraming
• segmenting
• assorting
• diagramming

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• integrating
• aggregating
• consolidating
• synthesizing
• unifying
• amalgamating
• assimilating
• coalescing
• agglomerating
• conglomerating

4

as in dying

to stop functioning

the computer finally broke down and had to be replaced

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dying
• crashing
• failing
• cutting out
• giving out
• stalling
• breaking
• conking (out)
• acting up
• wheezing
• sputtering
• malfunctioning
• jamming
• fizzling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• starting (up)

5

as in melting down

to yield to mental or emotional stress

began to break down when he realized that he was on the verge of bankruptcy

Synonyms & Similar Words

• melting down
• losing it
• falling apart
• cracking
• going to pieces
• freaking (out)
• flipping (out)
• wigging (out)
• choking
• breaking up
• going off the deep end
• blowing one's cool

6

as in taking down

to take apart

the crew was breaking down the party tent when we arrived

Synonyms & Similar Words

• taking down
• knocking down
• dismantling
• disconnecting
• striking
• dismounting
• detaching
• disassembling
• dismembering
• dividing
• demounting
• separating
• disengaging
• breaking up
• disarticulating
• dissevering
• disaggregating
• disjoining
• disuniting
• disjointing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• constructing
• building
• assembling
• combining
• erecting
• pitching
• uniting

7

as in shattering

to cause to break with violence and much noise

firefighters had to break down the wall to rescue the kitten

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shattering
• smashing
• destroying
• demolishing
• tearing down
• fracturing
• crashing
• splitting
• totalling
• splintering
• wrecking
• fragmenting
• totaling
• wasting
• vaporizing
• cracking
• devastating
• ruining
• crushing
• pulverizing
• shivering
• bashing
• annihilating
• crunching
• snapping
• busting
• decimating
• desolating
• wracking
• nuking

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of breaking down

Success also depends on breaking down silos. —Nitesh Mirchandani, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025

About The Daily Money Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer and financial news from USA TODAY, breaking down complex events, providing the TLDR version, and explaining how everything from Fed rate changes to bankruptcies impacts you. —Betty Lin-Fisher, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2025

Endstop triggered This is the web version of Fortune Tech, a daily newsletter breaking down the biggest players and stories shaping the future. —Dave Smith, Fortune, 2 Sep. 2025

Lightning also sparks hydroxyl radicals, which help cleanse the air by breaking down methane and other gases. —Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 29 Aug. 2025

Elsewhere among playoff contenders, relievers have been breaking down. —Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Aug. 2025