1
as in to tumble
to fall down or in as a result of physical pressure
the motel balcony collapsed under the weight of so many people
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to fail
to be unsuccessful
the legal case collapsed in the face of the opposition's evidence
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to compress
to reduce in size or volume by or as if by pressing parts or members together
the novel collapses events from four separate trips into one long odyssey
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in exhaustion
a complete depletion of energy or strength
suffered a mental collapse under the strain of studying for his bar exam
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in defeat
a falling short of one's goals
the complete collapse of the invasion set off a round of finger-pointing and recrimination
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of collapse
Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 28 Mar. 2025
Their entire world collapses when Pinyols, the legal owner of the land, disregards the verbal agreement made by his grandfather that the land should belong to the Solés.
—Bartolomeo Sala, The Dial, 27 Mar. 2025
Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 9 Apr. 2025
The Dominican Republic National Police confirmed 79 people were killed as a result of the roof collapse as of Tuesday night.
—Ingrid Vasquez, People.com, 9 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for collapse
Verb
The quake also caused a skyscraper in Bangkok, Thailand, to collapse.
—Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 28 Mar. 2025
Their entire world collapses when Pinyols, the legal owner of the land, disregards the verbal agreement made by his grandfather that the land should belong to the Solés.
—Bartolomeo Sala, The Dial, 27 Mar. 2025
Noun
Dominican officials have not commented on potential causes of the collapse, which also injured more than 255 survivors.
—Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 9 Apr. 2025
The Dominican Republic National Police confirmed 79 people were killed as a result of the roof collapse as of Tuesday night.
—Ingrid Vasquez, People.com, 9 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for collapse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for collapse
Verb
-
Stocks tumbled Wednesday after Nvidia warned new U.S. restrictions on exports to China will chisel billions of dollars off its results, with market losses accelerating after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell cautioned about the economic risks from President Trump's tariffs.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
16 Apr. 2025
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Prices for Canadian imports tumbled 1.5% while goods from Mexico were 0.3% cheaper.—
Lucia Mutikani,
USA Today,
16 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Most failed to hit their targets and crashed into the ocean.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
11 Apr. 2025
-
Instead, the bills failed to pass, and Democrat Assemblymember Rick Zbur compared them to Nazi Germany practices.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The song is deliberately compressed to sound like a Phil Spector track, and a video John made for the Gilbert O’Sullivan Show in 1973 features a rare cameo from Bernie mimicking Ray Cooper on bells.—
Shana Naomi Krochmal,
Vulture,
4 Apr. 2025
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Many of them focus on radically new technologies for heating and compressing plasmas, or fusing unusual combinations of isotopes.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
1 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Pasadena Unified School District, roiled by years of declining enrollment and grappling with the exhaustion of pandemic-era federal funds, needed to slash $12 million from its budget — and the school board had just voted to send out preliminary layoff notices to dozen of teachers.—
Daniel Miller,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Mar. 2025
-
Nurses, meanwhile, face long hours, understaffing, and emotional exhaustion.—
Scott White,
Forbes,
13 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The 30-year-old, who has played 29 times for Bournemouth in the Premier League this season, was withdrawn on 58 minutes during his side’s 2-1 defeat at Ipswich Town on April 2.—
Leon Imber,
New York Times,
9 Apr. 2025
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The loss ends Bayern Munich’s run of 22 home games without a defeat in the Champions League.—
Manuel Veth,
Forbes.com,
8 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Instead, the Knicks went 0-10 against the league’s top three teams (the Celtics, Cavaliers and Thunder).—
James L. Edwards III,
New York Times,
13 Apr. 2025
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If one or two bounces had gone the other way, Dartmouth would have advanced to the final four for the first time in school history.—
Jay King,
New York Times,
13 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Her cookery show seems to have bombed and the previous podcast deal with Spotify flopped, so the desire to succeed this time is weighing heavily on her shoulders.—
Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
8 Apr. 2025
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If the company’s stock flops, your reward flops too.—
Anatoly Iofe,
Forbes.com,
7 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Carving her own musical lane in an industry so determined to squeeze her into a box has been a challenge, but PinkPantheress isn’t one to let outside voices get to her.—
Chris Malone Méndez,
Forbes.com,
5 Apr. 2025
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The New York Times: In pressing forward with its assault on Gaza, Israel hopes to squeeze Hamas into releasing the remaining hostages.—
Alexis Simendinger,
The Hill,
4 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Collapse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/collapse. Accessed 21 Apr. 2025.
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