broken-down

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A van driver who crashed into a broken-down car in a smart motorway's fast lane has been found guilty of causing death by careless driving.

From BBC • Feb. 18, 2026

Nominated seven times for an Academy Award, Duvall won lead actor honors in 1983 for his role as Mac Sledge, a broken-down country singer in the film “Tender Mercies.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 16, 2026

He pushed constitutional reforms aimed at preventing any future slide into authoritarian rule, and to overhaul a "completely broken-down" system of public administration.

From Barron's • Feb. 13, 2026

There was the Picasso of late-19th-century realism; the Picasso of angular, broken-down Cubist shapes; the Picasso of playfully deformed portraits.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

“I don’t know how the Muggles manage without magic,” he said as they climbed a broken-down escalator that led up to a bustling road lined with shops.

From "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling