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
Relevance
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
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of melt down
Katie Cloyd, Martha Stewart, 17 Jan. 2026
Sidestep a financial wrangle if someone is melting down.
—Tribune Content Agency, Baltimore Sun, 5 Jan. 2026
Alaina Chou, Bon Appetit Magazine, 26 Feb. 2026
The Golden State loss, the choke against the Clippers, the meltdown against Cleveland began to percolate the perception that maybe, just maybe, the Nuggets were taking advantage of Adelman.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for melt down
Verb
Keys are typically made of brass or a combination of metals that can be melted down and repurposed into new items.
—Katie Cloyd, Martha Stewart, 17 Jan. 2026
Sidestep a financial wrangle if someone is melting down.
—Tribune Content Agency, Baltimore Sun, 5 Jan. 2026
Noun
Cheese quesadillas are sliced into inch-long planks, crusts are trimmed off sandwiches to stave off a potential meltdown, and even grapes are halved.
—Alaina Chou, Bon Appetit Magazine, 26 Feb. 2026
The Golden State loss, the choke against the Clippers, the meltdown against Cleveland began to percolate the perception that maybe, just maybe, the Nuggets were taking advantage of Adelman.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 26 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for melt down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for melt down
Verb
-
Gwen then cracks a joke about firing Del Rio's character.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Inside the pile of rocks at Delray Beach’s Anchor Park, there are hundreds of seashells, but most are broken, cracked, smashed or otherwise beaten up.—
Lois K. Solomon,
Sun Sentinel,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
In this Alexander Payne–esque comedy series, one negative review sends Broadway star Richard Bean (Kevin Kline) into a tailspin.—
Savannah Salazar,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2026
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The last game Carlsson played was a loss in Buffalo that was the Ducks’ ninth straight, a tailspin that exceeded anything the Ducks had seen in two years under Coach Joel Quenneville’s predecessor, Greg Cronin, with decidedly more lackluster rosters.—
Andrew Knoll,
Oc Register,
24 Feb. 2026
Noun
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At the congress, Kim derided liberal South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's calls for engagement as a deception, accusing successive governments in Seoul of seeking Pyongyang's collapse.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
27 Feb. 2026
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The blockade has led to an acute oil shortage in the country that was already facing economic collapse amid an energy crisis that was already plunging the country into daily prolonged blackouts.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
27 Feb. 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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And the bipartisan Washington consensus eschews reforms in favor of praying that the economy magically grows its way out of this fiscal disaster.—
Tiana Lowe Doescher,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Hundreds of agency staff, including those involved with disaster recovery efforts, have been grounded.—
Brianna Sacks,
Washington Post,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
As for this devastated, miserable, freaked out, walking nervous breakdown of a man?—
Stephen Schaefer,
Boston Herald,
25 Nov. 2025
-
The 1970s were Hollywood’s nervous breakdown.—
Remy Blumenfeld,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Recalled because a mixing error resulted in small cornstarch clumps in the product, resulting in a choking hazard.—
Josh Kelly,
Oklahoman,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Levy brought the dog in dead and claimed that that the dog had a seizure and was vomiting, choking and twitching before his death.—
Staff Report,
Hartford Courant,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Amorim was dismissed following a 1-1 draw with Leeds United on January 5 after a breakdown in relations behind the scenes.—
Mark Critchley,
New York Times,
26 Feb. 2026
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The reception line and the many, many condolences from friends and family start to get to Fran, and after a near breakdown about biscuits, Sophie sees the panic welling up in her eyes.—
Christina Grace Tucker,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Melt down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/melt%20down. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
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