Listing, division or categorization in great detail''Looking at the breakdown of the budget, I see a few items we could cut.
(chemistry) Breaking of chemical bonds within a compound to produce simpler compounds or elements.
A musical technique, by where the music is stripped down, becoming simpler, and can vary in heaviness depending on the genre.
1992, En Vogue, My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It) (song)And now it's time for a breakdown!
(sports) A loss of organization (of the parts of a system).
2011, September 18, Ben Dirs, Rugby World Cup 2011: England 41-10 Georgia, Georgia, ranked 16th in the world, dominated the breakdown before half-time and forced England into a host of infringements, but fly-half Merab Kvirikashvili missed three penalties.
(US, dated) A noisy, rapid, shuffling dance engaged in competitively by a number of persons or pairs in succession, as among the blacks of the southern United States.
(US, dated) Any crude, noisy dance performed by shuffling the feet, usually by one person at a time.
unknown date New Eng. TalesDon't clear out when the quadrilles are over, for we are going to have a breakdown to wind up with.
(US) Any rapid bluegrass dance tune, especially featuring a five-string banjo.Foggy Mountain Breakdown
1893, Mark Twain "The Californian's Tale", in The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories (1906)Towards nine the three miners said that as they had brought their instruments they might as well tune up, for the boys and girls would soon be arriving now, and hungry for a good old fashioned breakdown. A fiddle, a banjo, and a clarinet - these were the instruments.
