| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| breakdown |
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| SYLLABICATION: | break·down |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  br k doun |
| NOUN: | 1a. The act or process of failing to function or continue. b. The condition resulting from this: a breakdown in communication. 2. Electricity The abrupt failure of an insulator or insulating medium to restrict the flow of current. 3. A typically sudden collapse in physical or mental health. 4. An analysis, an outline, or a summary consisting of itemized data or essentials. 5. Disintegration or decomposition into parts or elements. 6. A noisy, energetic American country dance.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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