fall apart

phrase

1

: disintegrate

The pie was falling apart as I served it.

2

: to succumb to mental or emotional stress : break down

She began to fall apart when her son was imprisoned.

Examples of fall apart in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

On a boat — not to mention a reality-TV show — attachments develop and fall apart with unusual urgency; watching Kat and Gen felt like watching the main friend duo of a coming-of-age movie ride out the turbulence of growing up in 2x speed. — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2026

Instead, the Chiefs ended up trailing by three points after their drive fell apart on the shadow of the end zone. — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 4 Oct. 2026

The bottom line is Herbert is a very good quarterback who is pressing with everything falling apart around him. — Jeff Howe, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026

Sources said an image of a passenger manifest reached a journalist in Spain after the operation fell apart. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1761, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for fall apart

• counterpart
• art
• cart
• carte
• chart
• dart
• fart
• haart
• mart
• part
• smart
• start