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
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2
as in collapse
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of meltdown
Kareem Chehayeb, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2025
That same month, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake triggered a deadly tsunami, causing a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant, leading to one of the biggest nuclear disasters in history.
—Britt Clennett, ABC News, 1 July 2025
Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 26 June 2025
When a system is melting down at 3 a.m. and the on-call engineer is bleary-eyed, that’s when your tool’s UX truly matters.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for meltdown
Verb
The economic meltdown is rooted in decades of corruption and mismanagement by Lebanon’s political class.
—Kareem Chehayeb, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2025
That same month, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake triggered a deadly tsunami, causing a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant, leading to one of the biggest nuclear disasters in history.
—Britt Clennett, ABC News, 1 July 2025
Noun
In fact, during antiquity, most statues depicting gods, heroes and politicians were later destroyed or melted down to make tools, such as weapons or even kitchen utensils, according to the University of Maryland.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 26 June 2025
When a system is melting down at 3 a.m. and the on-call engineer is bleary-eyed, that’s when your tool’s UX truly matters.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for meltdown
Recent Examples of Synonyms for meltdown
Verb
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In seven Open appearances, he's missed the cut three times and cracked the top 10 only once (T8 at St Andrews in 2022).—
Devlina Sarkar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 July 2025
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While in court, he was forced to break open one of the bulbs, leaving one of them cracked.—
Cam'ron Hardy,
Chicago Tribune,
18 July 2025
Noun
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Such an unprecedented step could send the financial markets into a tailspin and over time push up interest rates and weaken the U.S. economy.—
Christopher Rugaber,
Chicago Tribune,
18 July 2025
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The subsequent drive was better than the horror effort that led to the quadruple-bogey and subsequent tailspin of six years ago, but not by a huge amount.—
Jack Bantock,
CNN Money,
17 July 2025
Noun
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Metallica famously initiated the landmark lawsuit against peer-to-peer file sharing company Napster in 2000, which led to further suits that ultimately caused the company's initial collapse.—
Peter Aitken,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 July 2025
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Automatic proposal drafting, data ingestion, and benchmarking collapse non-billable hours, freeing margin that can be redeployed as fee discounts or reinvested in service upgrades or tooling.—
Noah Ohrner,
Forbes.com,
14 July 2025
Noun
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The dog remained unfazed during Fowler's minor freak-out.—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 July 2025
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Oasis’s last tour, in 2008, was riven by fights, freak-outs, and sibling rivalry.—
Air Mail,
Air Mail,
7 June 2025
Noun
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In any disaster, responding quickly can help save people and salve the harm.—
Zoë Schlanger,
The Atlantic,
15 July 2025
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But there are some disasters that even the most equipped people can’t possibly prepare for.—
Jessica Pishko,
New Yorker,
15 July 2025
Noun
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But the high demands of a relentless industry proved too much and in late December 1964, Wilson suffered a nervous breakdown and stopped touring, becoming a full-time studio artist for the better part of more than a decade after that.—
Christina Maxouris,
CNN Money,
11 June 2025
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This looser, more straightforward approach works for the smaller scale and scope of Bottle Rocket, which begins with Luke Wilson’s Anthony leaving a voluntary treatment facility in Arizona after suffering a nervous breakdown.—
Shannon Carlin,
Time,
30 May 2025
Noun
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Despite concern over an entry-level job bloodbath, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon says businesses are still clamoring for young talent.—
Brit Morse,
Fortune,
24 June 2025
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Countless bloodbaths, several betrayals and 454 deaths later, Gi-hun, the baby and the baby's father—player No. 333 (played by Yim Si-wan), also known as Myung-gi—make it to the final game.—
Soo Kim,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 June 2025
Verb
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The boy stuck his head through the dividers and appeared to be choking, according to the witness, who said Smith laughed and pushed the boy’s head back through the divider.—
Meredith Colias-Pete,
Chicago Tribune,
11 July 2025
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In addition to the chickens, Frank flushed his shoes down one of the toilets, Dennis and Dee kept blowing fuses with the scheme's need for a power-sucking vacuum sealer, and the basement was choked with carbon monoxide.—
Dennis Perkins,
EW.com,
10 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Meltdown.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/meltdown. Accessed 26 Jul. 2025.
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