broken
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- smashed, burst, fractured, fragmented, ruptured, separated, severed, shattered
- interrupted, discontinuous, erratic, fragmentary, incomplete, intermittent, spasmodic
- not working, defective, imperfect, kaput (informal), on the blink (slang), out of order
- imperfect, disjointed, halting, hesitating, stammering

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English Thesaurus: broken, out of order, down, go down, on the blink, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. bro‧ken¹ /ˈbrəʊkən $ ˈbroʊ/
the past participle of break

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. broken² adjective
[Word Family: noun: break, outbreak, breakage; adjective: breakable ≠ unbreakable, broken ≠ unbroken; verb: break]

1. PIECE OF EQUIPMENT not working properly:
The CD player’s broken again.
Do you know how the phone got broken (=became broken)?

2. OBJECT in small pieces because it has been hit, dropped etc:
Mind the broken glass.
Wrap it up well so it doesn’t get broken (=become broken) in the mail.

3. BONE cracked because you have had an accident:
a badly broken leg
Gibbs had an X-ray, which revealed no broken bones.

4. NOT CONTINUOUS interrupted and not continuous:
a broken white line
a long noisy night of broken sleep

5. PERSON extremely weak mentally or physically because you have suffered a lot:
He returned from the war a broken man.

6. broken English/French etc if you speak in broken English, French etc, you speak slowly and make a lot of mistakes because you know only a little of the language

7. broken home a family that no longer lives together because the parents have divorced:
The majority of offenders do not come from broken homes.

8. broken marriage a marriage that has ended because the husband and wife do not live together anymore

9. a broken heart a feeling of extreme sadness, especially because someone you love has died or left you:
I reckon she died of a broken heart.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

broken
adj.
VERBS be | get How did the jug get broken?
ADV. badly One of his legs was badly broken.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

broken
adjective
BAD: The car could not stop because its brakes were broken.
GOOD: The car could not stop because its brakes were not working.
BAD: I turned on the radio but it was broken.
GOOD: I turned on the radio but it wasn't working.

Usage Note:
broken = physically damaged: 'a broken windscreen'
not working = not functioning properly: 'I can't ring him because his phone's not working.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

broken something that is broken has become separated into pieces, for example by being hit or dropped:
The floor was covered in broken glass.
This suitcase is no good – the handle’s broken.
The birds had gotten into the cabin through a broken window.
In the corner of the room were a broken chair and a rickety old desk.
out of order [not before noun] if a machine, especially one used by the public, is out of order, it is not working for a temporary period:
Every phone I tried was out of order.
The toilets were all out of order.
down [not before noun] if a computer system is down, it is not working:
The computer system was down all afternoon, so we went home.
⇒ go down (=stop working):
The network went down at 11:00 and we lost the whole morning’s work.
on the blink (also on the fritz American English) [not before noun] informal if a piece of electrical equipment is on the blink, it sometimes works and sometimes does not:
My TV’s on the blink again.
⇒ go on the blink/fritz:
The car’s air conditioning went on the fritz just as we reached Dallas.
there’s something wrong with something used when saying that a car, machine etc does not work properly and you do not know why:
There’s something wrong with my car; I think it might be the battery.
There was something wrong with the photocopier, so we called in the service company.
⇒ have something wrong with it:
If the VCR has something wrong with it, take it back to the store.
something has had it informal used when saying that a car, machine etc is completely broken and cannot be repaired:
I’m afraid the bike’s had it.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲