I don’t understand it - my phone just stopped working.
Synonyms and examplesbreak downThe lift has broken down again.
crashWhen a computer crashes, you reboot.
failThe train’s brakes failed, causing it to derail.
Go to the thesaurus article about these synonyms and antonyms ofstop working.
See alsobreak
fracture
bustinformal
shatter
smash
snap
chip
crack
split
fall apart
breakable
fragile
delicate
brittle
weak
broken
dead
defunct
bustedmainlyUSinformal
out of order
have had itinformal
kaputinformal
on the blinkinformal
on the fritzUSinformal
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If somethingbreaks, or if you break something, it is damaged so that it no longer works or is no longer in perfect condition. If something iseasily broken, it is easy to damage that thing. If a machine or a vehiclebreaks down, it stops working. If something is damaged so that it no longer works or is no longer in perfect condition, it isbroken.