Definition of "breakdown" []

• The act or process of failing to function or continue. (noun)
• The condition resulting from this: a breakdown in communication. (noun)
• Electricity The abrupt failure of an insulator or insulating medium to restrict the flow of current. (noun)
• A typically sudden collapse in physical or mental health. (noun)
• An analysis, an outline, or a summary consisting of itemized data or essentials. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "In fact, ubiquitin-mediated protein breakdown is involved: the plant recognises and rejects its own pollen!"
• "Considering his mother's bipolar disorder, do you think his breakdown is at all symptomatic of a neurological issue?"
• "All cycle, nerves have been frazzling two of the contestants separately used the word "breakdown" to describe their emotional state on last week's episode, but we hadn't seen anything like this before."