Break down
Break down verb - To arrange or assign according to type.
Usage example: when presented with the pile of files, the first thing he did was to break them down by month, order within the month, and region
Identify and break down are semantically related. In some cases you can use "Identify" instead a verb "Break down".
Identify
Identify verb - To find out or establish the identity of.
Break down and identify are semantically related. Sometimes you can use "Break down" instead a verb "Identify".
Mutual synonyms
Both terms in one sentence
- When the collective of demons who self-identify as Legion are about to be exorcised, they break down and beg Jesus to send them anywhere but Hell.
Source: Literature / The Four Gospels -
Played with in The Murder on the Links, where the victim's wife initially appears suspiciously calm about her husband's disappearance, only to completely break down when called upon to identify his body in such a way that removes any possible doubt that she could have been involved in his death.
Source: Literature / Hercule Poirot
Cite this Source
Identify and Break down. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 22, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/break_down/identify
Break down & Identify. N.p., 2016. Web. 22 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/break_down/identify>.
Identify or Break down. 2016. Accessed July 22, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/break_down/identify.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "break down" and "identify" have occurred on timeline