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

Previous efforts to broker even a partial ceasefire have repeatedly fallen apart within hours, with both sides accusing each other of violations. — Arkansas Online, 15 Sep. 2026

Both players were the Heisman favorite at different points in the first half of last season only to see those campaigns fall apart, especially for Mateer. — Dan Santaromita, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026

At the center of it all is an electrifying performance by Robert Pattinson as Hansen, a man who aspires to powerful anchor machismo but is slowly falling apart. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 14 Sep. 2026

Lawmakers agree that more guardrails are needed, but even narrow attempts at imposing rules have fallen apart over the years, evidence of the congressional reluctance to regulate the technology industry. — ABC News, 13 Sep. 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