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
David Eckert, Austin American Statesman, 8 Mar. 2026
When his kids melted down and started shrieking over the usual tantrum-inducing nonsense that sometimes sets off 4-year-olds, Buttigieg looked around nervously, gathered his family, and left the shop fast.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 3 Mar. 2026
Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 16 Mar. 2026
His meltdown came early when Thorbjornsen pitched out from the thick rough left of the fourth fairway, put his wedge into the water and then three-putted from 10 feet for a quadruple-bogey 8.
—ABC News, 15 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for melt down
Verb
After an ugly pitching performance Saturday night in which the Texas bullpen melted down and allowed six runs in the ninth inning, the Longhorns steadied themselves Sunday.
—David Eckert, Austin American Statesman, 8 Mar. 2026
When his kids melted down and started shrieking over the usual tantrum-inducing nonsense that sometimes sets off 4-year-olds, Buttigieg looked around nervously, gathered his family, and left the shop fast.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 3 Mar. 2026
Noun
The decision sparked a social media meltdown.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 16 Mar. 2026
His meltdown came early when Thorbjornsen pitched out from the thick rough left of the fourth fairway, put his wedge into the water and then three-putted from 10 feet for a quadruple-bogey 8.
—ABC News, 15 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for melt down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for melt down
Verb
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Five Bruins landed in the first round, and four cracked the top 10.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
21 Mar. 2026
-
Its original Broadway run was a financial disaster and the book has been hard to crack.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
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With the documentary world in a financial tailspin, and network news facing new threats under the FCC, movies about movies that once would’ve disgusted me suddenly feel like essential bursts of self-awareness.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
20 Mar. 2026
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At the story’s start Mathilda happens upon a new Transfixion, the obscure Black modernist poet Hermia Druitt, who sends her into a tailspin unlike any who came before.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Even before Israel’s killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, nudged Hezbollah into action, the ceasefire appeared to be on the brink of collapse.—
Asher Kaufman,
The Conversation,
20 Mar. 2026
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Dangerous flooding is impacting Hawaii's Oahu island, prompting evacuations and a warning from local officials of a possible dam collapse, as major rains pummel the area for the second significant rain event in a week.—
Meredith Deliso,
ABC News,
20 Mar. 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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More than a dozen scientists, meteorologists and disaster experts queried by The Associated Press put the March heat wave in a kind of ultra-extreme classification with such events as the 2021 Pacific Northwest heat wave, the 2022 Pakistan floods and killer hurricanes Helene, Harvey and Sandy.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
20 Mar. 2026
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The satellites would be used to power solar panels, even during non-peak sun hours, as well as to illuminate disaster zones and expand daytime hours.—
Devika Rao,
TheWeek,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
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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
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As for this devastated, miserable, freaked out, walking nervous breakdown of a man?—
Stephen Schaefer,
Boston Herald,
25 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The artistic director, Massimiliano Gioni, has for years staged sprawling, mind-bending exhibitions inside a vault that choked them.—
Jerry Saltz,
Curbed,
20 Mar. 2026
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The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran war has choked global oil supply.—
Victor Ordonez,
ABC News,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Read on to learn what distinguishes fast running from slow running, the unique benefits of each, and the ideal breakdown within a training program, depending on your goals.—
Jenny McCoy,
SELF,
20 Mar. 2026
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The breakdown of gender relations in the United States isn’t an internet freakshow anymore.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
19 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Melt down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/melt%20down. Accessed 25 Mar. 2026.
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