collapsing 1 of 2

adjective

as in failing

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collapsing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of collapse
1
as in crumpling
to fall down or in as a result of physical pressure the motel balcony collapsed under the weight of so many people

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2
as in flopping
to be unsuccessful the legal case collapsed in the face of the opposition's evidence

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3
as in compressing
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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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 collapsing
Verb
The cost of creating plausible false identities is collapsing. — Joao Gomes, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026 The public must contend head-on with a collapsing currency and runaway inflation, and to ordinary Iranians, describing the present situation as sustainable would sound almost obscene. — Ali Vaez, Foreign Affairs, 29 Sep. 2026 Within the review’s findings were that Mayich didn’t receive proper hydration and had inadequate medical care after collapsing. — Scott Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 29 Sep. 2026 Satterley’s death comes just a few weeks after another AEW wrestler, Andy Williams, known professionally as The Butcher, died after collapsing at an independent match in Pennsylvania, according to AEW. — Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 28 Sep. 2026 The possibility -- even likelihood -- of some rickety old thing collapsing under me never occurred to me. — Bryan Hendricks, Arkansas Online, 27 Sep. 2026 But with the team collapsing down the stretch, that shrank to one game heading into the regular-season finale. — Tom Ignudo, CBS News, 27 Sep. 2026 Whether Merz can stabilize his chancellorship and prevent his reform program from collapsing midstream is a question whose outcome may soon become clear. — CNBC, 25 Sep. 2026 This is how the already fragile health system in the Arab world’s poorest nation is collapsing, caught in a new front of the Iran war. — Fatma Khaled, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for collapsing
  1. failing
  2. crumpling
  3. flopping
  4. compressing
  5. folding
  6. tumbling
  7. struggling
  8. squeezing
Adjective
  • The World Bank, International Monetary Fund and International Criminal Court, which all got failing grades in last year's survey, saw the biggest gains.
    — Andrea Shalal, USA Today, 16 Sep. 2026
  • The state graded the campus an F for three consecutive years, meaning two more failing grades could trigger an intervention.
    — Noah Alcala Bach, San Antonio Express-News, 1 Jan. 2026
Definition of failing
Verb
  • But Mulderrig’s red Harley-Davidson Sportster slammed into the rear passenger side of Oates’ Cadillac, crumpling the back corner and twisting the wheel out of shape.
    — Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Euphoric players cavorting in disbelief, long-suffering fans crumpling to their knees in tears, commentators’ voices cracking at the drama of it all.
    — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 27 July 2026
Definition of crumpling
Verb
  • The tall foliage of bearded iris (Iris germanica) begins flopping early in the growing season.
    — Marie Iannotti, The Spruce, 22 Sep. 2026
  • The fish looks straight at me, flopping sluggishly from side to side.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of flopping
Verb
  • It will be closed by leaders who decide that creating new value beats endlessly compressing old value.
    — Sumeet Salwan, Forbes.com, 22 Sep. 2026
  • The result is an entire ocean’s worth of wind and waves all compressing together to get through what is a seriously small bottleneck.
    — KC Baker, PEOPLE, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of compressing
Adjective
  • Apple already offers this feature on non-folding iPhones, but those devices must be plugged in and propped up on their side.
    — Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2026
  • During the event, Ternus also introduced the latest version of the company’s non-folding smartphone, the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, which start at $1,199 and $1,299 respectively.
    — Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of folding
Verb
  • Cliffs teeter at 1,640 feet, before tumbling down in a flurry of vineyards and walking trails to the rushing rivers and gorges of Sil and Miño.
    — Olivia Morelli, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Sep. 2026
  • But many homeowners locked in low mortgage rates when COVID-19 slammed the economy and sent borrowing costs tumbling; so they are protected if mortgage rates rise in the wake of a Fed raTte hike.
    — Paul Wiseman, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of tumbling
Verb
  • In many such cases, Pennington says, parents will want to give each child an equal inheritance to be fair, but also worry about how the struggling child will fare upon receiving a sudden inheritance.
    — Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Each episode, the brutally honest Ramsay comes in to help the struggling restaurant fix its problems or its negative image, and in turn the restaurants get publicity from being on a national television show.
    — Katelyn Umholtz, Kansas City Star, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of struggling
Verb
  • Marris was aghast, squeezing the sides of her phone to capture what was on the screen.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The level of boredom Pugh brought to Kate making her older client orgasm by squeezing his nipples really sold her approach to the work.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of squeezing

Browse Nearby Words

collapses
collapsing
collar
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Cite this Entry

“Collapsing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/collapsing. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

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