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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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
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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
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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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of collapse
O. Rose Broderick, STAT, 5 June 2026
And in his final 11-on-11 series, tight end Greg Dulcich caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Willis, who threw the ball right before the pocket collapsed since a defender put offensive tackle Kion Smith on his backside.
—Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 4 June 2026
Britton Bloch, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026
Bankman-Fried was convicted of masterminding one of the largest financial frauds in history stemming from the collapse of the crypto-exchange FTX.
—Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 12 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for collapse
Verb
The quiet collapse of America’s research ethics watchdog In little over a year, the federal office responsible for overseeing the vast research enterprise bankrolled by the Department of Health and Human Services — including keeping study participants safe — has collapsed.
—O. Rose Broderick, STAT, 5 June 2026
And in his final 11-on-11 series, tight end Greg Dulcich caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Willis, who threw the ball right before the pocket collapsed since a defender put offensive tackle Kion Smith on his backside.
—Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 4 June 2026
Noun
For executive teams, this matters because dysfunction rarely begins as visible collapse.
—Britton Bloch, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026
Bankman-Fried was convicted of masterminding one of the largest financial frauds in history stemming from the collapse of the crypto-exchange FTX.
—Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 12 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for collapse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for collapse
Verb
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The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite tumbled more than 4% for its worst day since April 2025, weighed down by chip names including Broadcom, Marvell, Intel and AMD.—
Alex Harring,
CNBC,
8 June 2026
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The primary suite is set apart for privacy and includes a spa-style bath; the property website describes terrazzo floors made of crushed marble and tumbled sea glass.—
David Caraccio,
Sacbee.com,
8 June 2026
Verb
-
Eldridge homered for a third straight game, the latest being his fifth home run of the season, but San Francisco fell 5-1 to the Chicago Cubs on Friday evening at Oracle Park, the latest instance of this team failing to carry the momentum from a momentous moment.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
13 June 2026
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The Washington National Opera is accusing the Kennedy Center of failing to return more than $17 million in donor funds, escalating a dispute that followed the end of a 15-year partnership between the two institutions.—
Rena Rowe,
The Washington Examiner,
12 June 2026
Verb
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This could be a CFO who needs the close to actually shorten, a supply chain leader who needs the planning cycle to actually compress, or a claims executive who needs the loss ratio to actually move.—
Irfan Khan,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
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The accelerated consumption cycle has also compressed the window in which a title can generate revenue, with mid-tier content suffering most.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
12 June 2026
Noun
-
How are you supposed to do all that while fighting your own possible anger, fear, exhaustion, and more?—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
6 June 2026
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Suffering from exhaustion and severe frostbite on his hands, Dawa was flown by rescue helicopter to HAMS Hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal, where he was reunited with his family.—
Bill Hutchinson,
ABC News,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
The Knicks had their 13-game winning streak end in Game 3 and seemed headed for a second straight defeat throughout the first half, when Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs opened the biggest halftime lead by a visiting team in the Finals.—
Tim Reynolds,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2026
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The scars left by this Western Conference Final defeat to the Chicago Wolves in seven games will linger.—
Corey Masisak,
Denver Post,
11 June 2026
Verb
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In order to appease the Production Code, and facing pressure from the Roman Catholic League of Decency, Lolita’s age was never referenced in the film, and the physical relationship between Lolita and Humbert Humbert went undepicted.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 June 2026
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But after struggling on the road before losing consecutive games at home against Las Vegas and Dallas amid a three-game losing streak, the Sparks needed something to go right.—
Marisa Ingemi,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2026
Verb
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Guy Ritchie’s In the Grey, an action thriller starring Henry Cavill, Jake Gyllenhaal and Eiza González, is new on digital streaming this week after flopping in theaters.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
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Within a year Arthur Q Smith earned himself a solo show, which, despite flopping, revealed an unmistakable gift for songwriting.—
Jonathan Rowe,
SPIN,
1 June 2026
Verb
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Attendees seemed keen to squeeze as much networking as possible out of the gala, often chatting with their associates and neighbors during speakers’ remarks.—
Jared Perlo,
NBC news,
6 June 2026
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Fuel supplies squeezed Russian emergency services acknowledged Saturday that a fire had broken out at the oil depot in Krasnodar.—
Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
6 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Collapse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/collapse. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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