as in to crack
to yield to mental or emotional stress
rather than melt down, the team strengthened their resolve and ended up winning the game
Synonyms & Similar Words
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1
as in tailspin
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
2
as in collapse
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of melt down
Kansas City Star, 2 Apr. 2026
Instead, glass is melted down into lower-value products like bottles or insulation, or even used as filler in construction.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 1 Apr. 2026
Troy Renck, Denver Post, 4 Apr. 2026
And then there was the foul trouble, which seemed to be the issue at the root of Auriemma’s bizarre late-game meltdown toward Staley.
—Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 4 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for melt down
Verb
So there was plenty to like about the Royals’ third straight victory after an 0-2 start … even after the bullpen melted down an 11-run lead to four in the final innings.
—Kansas City Star, 2 Apr. 2026
Instead, glass is melted down into lower-value products like bottles or insulation, or even used as filler in construction.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 1 Apr. 2026
Noun
But the timing of this meltdown was brutal.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 4 Apr. 2026
And then there was the foul trouble, which seemed to be the issue at the root of Auriemma’s bizarre late-game meltdown toward Staley.
—Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 4 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for melt down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for melt down
Verb
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There are candidates on the bench to still crack the postseason rotation if needed, too.—
Fiifi Frimpong,
New York Daily News,
10 Apr. 2026
-
After each meal the Philadelphia native, now in his late 30s, would crack open a fortune cookie, reading the tiny paper with its words of wisdom on one side and a string of lucky numbers on the other.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The Blue Jackets had sputtered along offensively for more than two weeks, scoring only 16 goals during a 2-7-1 tailspin that knocked them out of a playoff spot.—
Aaron Portzline,
New York Times,
12 Apr. 2026
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In the film, Zendaya's Emma reveals her deepest, darkest secret to her fiancé, which sends their relationship and upcoming wedding into a tailspin.—
Mike Miller,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
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To be present in Hungary on the eve of its upcoming elections is to feel the tremors of a regime confronting the prospect of collapse.—
Kapil Komireddi,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Spieth, nine holes away from another wire-to-wire victory, throws it away with a collapse around Amen Corner that is shocking even by Augusta National standards.—
Senior Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
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This time, Carr’s freak-out was an attempt to stretch the FCC’s equal-time rules to apply to talk shows — both late night and daytime.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
23 Jan. 2026
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For now, though, Chang is in her bubble up north and witnessing most of the freak-outs remotely and not in person.—
Jessica Radloff,
Glamour,
14 Jan. 2026
Noun
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It’s been roughly 11 months since the Knicks and Celtics met in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs last season, a series ending in disaster for the Celtics, who were favored to beat the Knicks before blowing consecutive 20-point leads to open the semifinals.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
10 Apr. 2026
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The disaster declaration will cover Kankakee, Ford, Grundy, Iroquois, Livingston, and Will counties.—
Todd Feurer,
CBS News,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
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When their news anchor (Peter Finch) has a nervous breakdown on the air, suddenly their ratings turn around, bringing on a moral morass only some of them are prepared to face.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Mar. 2026
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Mostly because Kiesling’s voice is delightful, and this chronicle of Daphne—a young mother-intellectual on the verge of a nervous breakdown—is open-hearted and unsparing about the work that goes into balancing infant care with day job.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Milne had grabbed his wife by the neck, choked her, dragged her around, restrained her, punched her and knocked her unconscious.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Hospital staff later found her husband choking and struggling to breathe.—
Peter Elkind,
ProPublica,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Instead, the researchers think the violence stemmed from a breakdown of friendships and escalations between cliques and rivals.—
Evan Bush,
NBC news,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Any breakdown interrupts the missile’s ability to stay on course.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Melt down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/melt%20down. Accessed 14 Apr. 2026.
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