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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
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
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
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
-
In a burst of primary color and trompe l’oeil trickery, five dice—red, yellow, blue, green, white—are suspended against a maroon field densely latticed with dice shapes, the cubes appearing simultaneously to lie stationary on its pip-stippled surface and to tumble downward through space.—
James Quandt,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
-
Topline Airline stocks tumbled Monday as the industry continues to feel pressure from increasing jet fuel prices due to the Iran war, with JetBlue falling as much as 9% earlier after revising its second quarter outlook.—
Zachary Folk,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
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
-
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
-
The World Cup compresses all of this into one global cultural window.—
Jeff Fromm,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
Noun
-
What the poll cannot quite capture is the exhaustion driving those beliefs.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
2 June 2026
-
What happened when exhaustion appeared?—
Irma Davarashvili,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
Noun
-
The Highlanders, who suffered a 7-5 defeat at the hands of Fontana Kaiser on Wednesday in the CIF Southern California Division 3 Regional semifinals, graduate just four seniors.—
John Maffei,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 June 2026
-
Nungurey saw a team defense that connected at crucial moments and managed to stave off defeat for one more inning and force extra innings against junior Redwood pitching ace Jackie Ramirez in the first round of the CIF SoCal Regional Division II playoffs Wednesday.—
Ethan Hanson,
Daily News,
4 June 2026
Verb
-
Butlers here are called Aris Meehas, a historical Maldivian reference to someone assigned to serve royalty—thankfully, interactions are more easy-going than overly deferential.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
1 June 2026
-
After more than five innings of the Bulldogs trailing Liberty by one, struggling to get anything going, the Georgia third baseman crushed a two-run home run to left field.—
Sarah Spencer,
AJC.com,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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 8 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
