different between breakdown vs crackdown

English

Etymology

From the verb phrase break down.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?b?e?kda?n/

Noun

breakdown (countable and uncountable, plural breakdowns)

1. A failure, particularly mechanical; something that has failed

2. A physical collapse or lapse of mental stability

3. Listing, division or categorization in great detail

4. (film, television) A detailed description of a forthcoming project, including the characters and roles required.
5. (chemistry) Breaking of chemical bonds within a compound to produce simpler compounds or elements.
6. (physics) The sudden transition of an electrical insulator to a conductor when subjected to a sufficiently strong voltage, caused by the partial or complete ionization of the insulator.
7. A musical technique by which the music is stripped down, becoming simpler, varying 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!

   • 1999, CMJ New Music Report (volume 59, number 631, page 28)

     The fired-up foursome takes itself very seriously, singing politically charged lyrics, which, in the tradition of Strife and Damnation AD, are strategically placed in the middle of slamming, moshable breakdowns.

8. (sports) A loss of organization (of the parts of a system).
9. (US, dated) A noisy, rapid, shuffling dance engaged in competitively by a number of persons or pairs in succession, common in Southern United States African American music.
10. (US, dated) Any crude, noisy dance performed by shuffling the feet, usually by one person at a time.
    • 1854, New England Tales

      Don't clear out when the quadrilles are over, for we are going to have a breakdown to wind up with.

11. (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.
12. (music) The percussion break of songs chosen by a DJ for use in hip-hop music.

Synonyms

• (musical technique): degradation

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• break it down

References

• (The percussion break of songs chosen by a DJ for use in hip-hop music.) 2001. The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: North America. Garland Publishing. Ellen Koskoff (Ed.). Pg. 694.

English

Etymology

Noun use of the verb crack down.

Noun

crackdown (countable and uncountable, plural crackdowns)

1. Abruptly stern measures or disciplinary action; increased enforcement
   • 2013 June 18, Simon Romero, "Protests Widen as Brazilians Chide Leaders," New York Times (retrieved 21 June 2013):

     After a harsh police crackdown last week fueled anger and swelled protests, President Dilma Rousseff, a former guerrilla who was imprisoned under the dictatorship and has now become the target of pointed criticism herself, tried to appease dissenters by embracing their cause on Tuesday.

Translations