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
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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
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1
as in exhaustion
a complete depletion of energy or strength
suffered a mental collapse under the strain of studying for his bar exam
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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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of collapse
Alex Ritman, Variety, 23 May 2026
In the first trial, the prosecution argued Murdaugh’s financial life was collapsing before the murders due to Beach’s death.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 23 May 2026
Samantha Subin, CNBC, 29 May 2026
That makes sense on the surface, as this entry-level hiring collapse has coincided almost exactly with ChatGPT’s arrival in late 2022.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 29 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for collapse
Verb
And for 15 years the project was on the verge of collapsing.
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 23 May 2026
In the first trial, the prosecution argued Murdaugh’s financial life was collapsing before the murders due to Beach’s death.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 23 May 2026
Noun
Vertical was once on the brink of collapse.
—Samantha Subin, CNBC, 29 May 2026
That makes sense on the surface, as this entry-level hiring collapse has coincided almost exactly with ChatGPT’s arrival in late 2022.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 29 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for collapse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for collapse
Verb
-
Brent crude oil futures are more than 2% higher following the strikes, after tumbling 7% yesterday.—
Alex Harring,
CNBC,
26 May 2026
-
However, the engines needed for the landing burn failed to relight properly, causing the booster to tumble and break apart after hitting the sea.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
23 May 2026
Verb
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However, the anticipated state finals clash was not to be as Calabasas dropped the baton in the Southern Section finals and failed to advance.—
Steve Galluzzo,
Los Angeles Times,
30 May 2026
-
It has been cited seven times by the AQMD since 2012 for such things as failing to report breakdowns and failing to maintain a system that measures and records temperatures.—
Jason Henry,
Oc Register,
30 May 2026
Verb
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Sifting Out the Solution Since receiving his doctorate from the University of Cambridge in 2000, Chan had been developing and refining ways to compress complicated quantum states by focusing only on their most important configurations.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
29 May 2026
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The World Cup compresses all of this into one global cultural window.—
Jeff Fromm,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
Noun
-
For leaders who repeatedly dismiss offers of help, stress can accelerate chronic exhaustion and burnout.—
Dilan Gomih,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
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The exhaustion is visible everywhere.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
26 May 2026
Noun
-
That actually proved the prelude to an even more extraordinary attack on the board in his post-match press conference just 24 hours later, following a 2-1 defeat by Sunderland.—
Matt Woosnam,
New York Times,
28 May 2026
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The latest came in a 111-104 loss to the expansion Toronto Tempo on Wednesday at Wintrust Arena — the Sky’s third straight defeat since the season-ending loss of Rickea Jackson to a torn ACL.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
28 May 2026
Verb
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In the aftermath of the attack, Tom Wheeler (Chris Mulkey) offered to take Tate to Texas to go fishing, which sounded like a reprieve to Kayce, who agreed.—
Julia Moore,
PEOPLE,
25 May 2026
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Any easy toss-on-and-go dress is always a good idea, especially on hot days when you can’t be bothered to dream up a multi-layered outfit.—
Ali Faccenda,
InStyle,
25 May 2026
Verb
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For all the bright spots on Islands’ state champion soccer team, nothing shone brighter than its golden hairdos flopping around the pitch.—
Jack Leo,
AJC.com,
23 May 2026
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As in most insurance company failures, PHL flopped for several reasons.—
Gretchen Morgenson,
NBC news,
20 May 2026
Verb
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The advice generated for mental health inquiries can attempt to squeeze a round peg into a square hole, simply because that’s the imbalance of the AI.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2026
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But the airline was squeezed at the airport because Spirit occupied many of the gates, especially at prime flying hours.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
23 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Collapse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/collapse. Accessed 31 May. 2026.
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