BREAKDOWN • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Breakdown

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/brˈeɪkdˌaʊn/ Listen

noun

Breakdown n.

The act or result of breaking down, as of a carriage; downfall.

(a)

A noisy, rapid, shuffling dance engaged in competitively by a number of persons or pairs in succession, as among the colored people of the Southern United States, and so called, perhaps, because the exercise is continued until most of those who take part in it break down.

(b)

Any rude, noisy dance performed by shuffling the feet, usually by one person at a time. (U.S.) "Don't clear out when the quadrilles are over, for we are going to have a breakdown to wind up with."

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Etymology of 'Breakdown'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Breakdown" Quotes from Famous Books

... utmost limits of the Czar's patience; and he at once returned his French passports. In forwarding them to the French ambassador at Berlin, Hardenberg expressed the deep regret of the Prussian monarch at the breakdown of this most salutary negotiation—a phrase which showed that the patience of Berlin was ...

— The Life of Napoleon I (Volumes, 1 and 2) • John Holland Rose

... combined effect of ruined transport and the six years' blockade on Russian life in town and country. First of all was cut off the import of manufactured goods from abroad. That has had a cumulative effect completed, as it were, and rounded off by the breakdown of transport. By making it impossible to bring food, fuel and raw material to the factories, the wreck of transport makes it impossible for Russian industry to produce even that modicum which it contributed to the general ...

— The Crisis in Russia - 1920 • Arthur Ransome

... wood at the time, and the windy tumult as well as the roaring from the loch made confusion for his hearing; but presently he recognised the intruding sound as the throbbing of a motor. "Some silly fool got a breakdown," he was thinking sympathetically, when a terrific gust caught and fairly staggered him. Ere he fully recovered balance and breath something cold and clammy fell upon his face, was dragged down over his shoulders and arms, blinding, pinioning him. The suit case was rudely wrenched from his hand; ...

— Till the Clock Stops • John Joy Bell

... the first breakdown in Mother's health which necessitated her removal to the country. Luther and Dorinda Rogers were distant relatives of our friend, the lawyer. They owned the little house by the shore at Denboro and the lawyer had visited them occasionally on shooting and fishing trips. They were in need of money, ...

— The Rise of Roscoe Paine • Joseph C. Lincoln

... passed off, and seemed of no importance, but it had left him in a state of nervous weakness and prostration, at which Dr Hunt looked grave. Mr Goodwin must have been over-exerting himself for some time past, he declared, and this breakdown was the result. It would probably be some time before he could do any work. Perfect rest, and freedom from all care and agitation, ...

— Thistle and Rose - A Story for Girls • Amy Walton

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