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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
Roger Trapp, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s questions on the apparent collapse of the Black Sea ceasefire.
—Caitlin McFall, FOXNews.com, 27 Mar. 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
Scandals such as Bernard Madoff’s huge Ponzi scheme discovered earlier this century and the collapse of the energy firm Enron a few years earlier are proof enough of that.
—Roger Trapp, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s questions on the apparent collapse of the Black Sea ceasefire.
—Caitlin McFall, FOXNews.com, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for collapse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for collapse
Verb
-
The tech-heavy Nasdaq and the benchmark S&P 500, which tracks the largest U.S. companies, each also tumbled nearly 6% on Friday.—
Maria Aspan,
NPR,
4 Apr. 2025
-
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled more than 1,000 points for a second day Friday, falling more than 4%, while the S & P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite each moved more than 5% lower.—
Sean Conlon,
CNBC,
4 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Aim for Outsized Returns Given that most innovation initiatives will fail, the successful projects must generate returns that justify the overall investment.—
Jessica Mendoza,
Forbes.com,
1 Apr. 2025
-
But signing Wilson, the No. 2 pick in the 2021 draft who failed with the New York Jets, was a surprise.—
David Furones,
Sun Sentinel,
31 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
For complex tasks, the smartphone can further compress the latent representations and forward them to cloud servers for specialized processing (e.g., full document OCR or advanced medical diagnostics).—
Wei Duan,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
-
More importantly, compressed monthly changes highlight the general lack of homebuying demand that continues to characterize the current housing market.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
In that moment of grief and exhaustion, something shifted.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
27 Mar. 2025
-
Breast cancer survivor Julie Swallow, 56, initially chalked up her exhaustion to being overworked.—
Cara Lynn Shultz,
People.com,
26 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
The governing Liberals had appeared poised for a historic defeat, but polls indicate that Carney has recently opened up a lead over Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre.—
Ron Estes,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2025
-
France was plunged into political chaos last year after Macron called a snap election after suffering a heavy defeat at EU elections.—
Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
31 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Fast forward two seasons when the Horned Frogs went 34-4, doubled their home attendance to 3,223 per game and hosted a NCAA Tournament game against Louisville in front of a sellout crowd at Schollmaier Arena.—
Steven Johnson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
1 Apr. 2025
-
The freshman went 10-4-1 with a .933 save percentage and a 2.01 goals against average on the season, and was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie team.—
Kels Dayton,
Hartford Courant,
1 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Early in her tenure, the studio made series of major independent film acquisitions at the Sundance Film Festival that ended up flopping in theaters.—
Samantha Masunaga,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2025
-
Even Dan Wolken, USA TODAY's most seasoned NCAA March Madness reporter, has already seen his picks flop.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
27 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
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
-
Plus, this portable Bluetooth karaoke machine is small enough to squeeze into an Easter basket.—
Jacquelyn Smith,
Parents,
4 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Collapse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/collapse. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share