■ break down

■ break down
■ break down
A v. t. + avv.
1 abbattere: to break down a door, abbattere una porta
2 demolire; smantellare: to break down old cars, demolire auto vecchie
3 abbattere; spezzare: to break down class barriers, abbattere le barriere tra le classi; We broke down the enemy's resistance, abbiamo spezzato la resistenza del nemico
4 suddividere; scomporre; articolare: Profits can be broken down under three headings, gli utili si possono suddividere in tre voci; The report is broken down into five chapters, il rapporto si articola in cinque capitoli
5 analizzare in dettaglio
6 (chim.) decomporre; scomporre
B v. i. + avv.
1 (mecc.) rompersi; guastarsi; avere un guasto; fermarsi per un guasto; andare in panne: The lorry broke down after a few miles, dopo poche miglia, il camion ha avuto un guasto
2 (autom.) avere una panne: I broke down on a country lane, la mia macchina è andata in panne in una stradina di campagna
3 venir meno; interrompersi; spezzarsi; saltare; fallire: All communication had broken down, ogni comunicazione era saltata; The peace talks broke down, la conferenza di pace è fallita; There's a risk of their marriage breaking down, c'è il rischio che il loro matrimonio finisca
4 crollare; subire un tracollo: His resistance broke down, la sua resistenza è crollata; His health broke down, la sua salute ha subito un tracollo
5 (di persona) perdere il controllo di sé; crollare; (anche) commuoversi, non riuscire a trattenere le lacrime: He broke down and cried (o broke down in tears), è scoppiato a piangere; è scoppiato in lacrime
6 suddividersi; articolarsi: essere classificabile
7 sgretolarsi; sfaldarsi
8 (chim.) decomporsi; scomporsi: Inside our body, food breaks down into various substances, dentro il nostro corpo, il cibo si scompone in varie sostanze.

English-Italian dictionary. 2013.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • break down — {v.} (stress on down ) 1. To smash or hit (something) so that it falls; cause to fall by force. * /The firemen broke down the door./ 2. To reduce or destroy the strength or effect of; weaken; win over. * /By helpful kindness the teacher broke… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • break down — {v.} (stress on down ) 1. To smash or hit (something) so that it falls; cause to fall by force. * /The firemen broke down the door./ 2. To reduce or destroy the strength or effect of; weaken; win over. * /By helpful kindness the teacher broke… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • break down something — break down (something) 1. to divide something into smaller parts. The quickest way to get this job done is to break it down into a number of specific steps. 2. to cause something to weaken or decay. Temperatures were high enough to break down the …   New idioms dictionary

  • break down — (something) 1. to divide something into smaller parts. The quickest way to get this job done is to break it down into a number of specific steps. 2. to cause something to weaken or decay. Temperatures were high enough to break down the chemicals …   New idioms dictionary

  • break down someone — break down (someone) 1. to cause someone to become emotional. Andy broke down and cried several times during his retirement speech. 2. to weaken someone. I felt so good, I felt like nothing could break me down or make me sick …   New idioms dictionary

  • break down — (someone) 1. to cause someone to become emotional. Andy broke down and cried several times during his retirement speech. 2. to weaken someone. I felt so good, I felt like nothing could break me down or make me sick …   New idioms dictionary

  • break-down — ● break down nom masculin invariable (anglais breakdown, effondrement) Synonyme de dépression nerveuse. ● break down (synonymes) nom masculin invariable (anglais breakdown, effondrement) Synonymes : dépression nerveuse …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • break down — ► break down 1) suddenly cease to function or continue. 2) lose control of one s emotions when in distress. Main Entry: ↑break …   English terms dictionary

  • break|down — «BRAYK DOWN», noun, adjective. –n. 1. a) failure to work: »Lack of oil caused a breakdown in the motor. b) failure; collapse: »... the breakdown of the old regime (Edmund Wilson). 2. loss of health; w …   Useful english dictionary

  • break down — index classify, codify, damage, decay, erode, overcome (overwhelm), pigeonhole, stall …   Law dictionary

  • break down — ( )brāk dau̇n vt to separate (as a chemical compound) into simpler substances: DECOMPOSE vi 1) to stop functioning because of breakage or wear 2) to undergo decomposition …   Medical dictionary

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