come/fall apart at the seams
idiom
informal
: to break into parts or pieces
—usually used figuratively to describe someone or something that is in very bad condition
The plan/company is falling apart at the seams.
She looks like she's going to come apart at the seams.
Examples of come/fall apart at the seams in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The legend plays an ordinary woman in a blue-collar family who basically starts to come apart at the seams.
—
Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 18 Apr. 2025
After this upset playoff defeat, Phoenix began to come apart at the seams and the dysfunction began to become apparent.
—Mikai Bruce, Forbes.com, 1 Apr. 2025
Gena Rowlands owns the screen as a woman whose average domestic life starts to come apart at the seams.
—Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 3 Jan. 2025
The movie threatens to come apart at the seams a little here with a lot of expositional talk about how all this government of Spider-Men actually works.
—Ars Staff, Ars Technica, 25 Dec. 2023
Now the man reportedly worth $2.2 billion has revealed it’s been difficult to watch his project come apart at the seams, potentially pouring salt on the wounds for investors who may still blame him, in some part, for the company’s ultimate demise.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 8 Nov. 2023
Some start to fall mid-workout, or fall apart at the seams after a few washes, and others are sneakily transparent.
—Ariel Scotti, PEOPLE.com, 24 Mar. 2022
From Day 1, teammates say, the transfer quarterback stepped in with a swagger that lifted the locker room, changing a culture that had previously come apart at the seams.
—Los Angeles Times, 10 Dec. 2022
Thousands of words have been dedicated in recent months in an attempt to understand how a team that was so painstakingly constructed, put together with such thought and expertise and precision, could come apart at the seams so quickly and so easily.
—Rory Smith, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2023
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Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 18 Apr. 2025
After this upset playoff defeat, Phoenix began to come apart at the seams and the dysfunction began to become apparent.
—Mikai Bruce, Forbes.com, 1 Apr. 2025
Gena Rowlands owns the screen as a woman whose average domestic life starts to come apart at the seams.
—Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 3 Jan. 2025
The movie threatens to come apart at the seams a little here with a lot of expositional talk about how all this government of Spider-Men actually works.
—Ars Staff, Ars Technica, 25 Dec. 2023
Now the man reportedly worth $2.2 billion has revealed it’s been difficult to watch his project come apart at the seams, potentially pouring salt on the wounds for investors who may still blame him, in some part, for the company’s ultimate demise.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 8 Nov. 2023
Some start to fall mid-workout, or fall apart at the seams after a few washes, and others are sneakily transparent.
—Ariel Scotti, PEOPLE.com, 24 Mar. 2022
From Day 1, teammates say, the transfer quarterback stepped in with a swagger that lifted the locker room, changing a culture that had previously come apart at the seams.
—Los Angeles Times, 10 Dec. 2022
Thousands of words have been dedicated in recent months in an attempt to understand how a team that was so painstakingly constructed, put together with such thought and expertise and precision, could come apart at the seams so quickly and so easily.
—Rory Smith, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Come/fall apart at the seams.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/come%2Ffall%20apart%20at%20the%20seams. Accessed 16 Jul. 2025.
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