go to pieces

phrase

Definition of go to piecesnext
as in crack
to yield to mental or emotional stress After the breakup of his marriage he completely went to pieces.

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for go to pieces
  1. fall apart
  2. lose it
Phrase
  • The case began to fall apart in April, after a federal judge ruled a customs officer improperly canceled Petrova’s visa over the incident.
    — Michael Casey, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2026
  • The Chiefs were headed toward an impressive victory at Denver, then things fell apart.
    — Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of fall apart
Phrase
  • Democrats previously held a slight majority after the 2022 midterm election but lost it in 2024.
    — DeJanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 4 Nov. 2026
  • There was so much to lose, and so many different ways to lose it.
    — Téa Obreht, New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of lose it
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.

Browse Nearby Words

go to one's head
go to pieces
go to pot
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Go to pieces.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/go%20to%20pieces. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gauntlet

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All