Broken-down

adj

adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Which has broken down and, as a result, is no longer in working order.

    "And a broken-down train and the severe weather temporarily shut the line between Dawlish and Exeter St Davids."

  2. 2
    Not properly maintained; neglected.
  3. 3
    Ruined in character or strength.

    "We looked our last upon them and the indescribable rosy glow in which they lay, and then with hearts far too heavy for words we left them, and crept thence broken-down men - so broken down that we even renounced the chance of practically immortal life, because all that made life valuable had gone from us, and we knew even then that to prolong our days indefinitely would only be to prolong our sufferings."

Adjective
  1. 1
    in deplorable condition wordnet
  2. 2
    not in working order wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
badbeat upbedraggledbrokenbrokencrushed

Example

More examples

"A broken-down car was standing in the middle of the road."

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.