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
Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 6 Feb. 2026
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
Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 27 Feb. 2026
Maura Higgins shouted at Rapaport at the end of his meltdown, while host Andy Cohen even stepped in to curb the actor's major scene.
—Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for melt down
Verb
Stolen Louvre loot worth $102 million may be melted down.
—Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 6 Feb. 2026
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
Noun
Richard’s meltdown goes viral, putting his role — and maybe his career — on ice while his long-suffering agent, Alvy (Tony Shalhoub), scrambles to clean up the mess.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 27 Feb. 2026
Maura Higgins shouted at Rapaport at the end of his meltdown, while host Andy Cohen even stepped in to curb the actor's major scene.
—Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for melt down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for melt down
Verb
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In the Los Angeles area and a few places around the San Francisco Bay Area, the cost of gas has cracked $5-per-gallon again and is even tipping toward $6 in a few places.—
Iris Kwok,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
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Edwards was shooting 46 percent on long 2-pointers, which cracked the NBA’s top 10 (among qualifying perimeter players) leading into Thursday night’s action.—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Cuba’s economy, already in the midst of an existential crisis, went into a tailspin.—
Sarah Moreno,
Miami Herald,
7 Mar. 2026
-
The film, set in 1920s Montana, unwraps the lives of the Burbank brothers, Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch) and George (Jesse Plemons), after George marries lonely widow Rose Gordon (Kirsten Dunst), setting surly Phil into a tailspin of cruelty that envelops the family.—
Sezin Devi Keohler,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Shortly after the collapse of Hussein’s ruling party, crowds looted government offices and cultural sites.—
Jack Dolan,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Mar. 2026
-
John’s insistence on using the George office for anything but actual work related to the magazine, which is perennially on the verge of collapse, is going to give Berman a heart attack.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
6 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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Such lack of vision — or ample self-delusion — propelled Americans to disaster in Iraq, even with some competent advisers in the White House.—
Trudy Rubin,
Twin Cities,
6 Mar. 2026
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Leaving Polis off the guest list of a recent governors’ dinner at the White House was the latest slap in the face of many that include rescinded federal grants, a vetoed water bill, rejected disaster fund requests, and the loss of two federal agencies.—
Krista Kafer,
Denver Post,
6 Mar. 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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Iran may soon run out of drones, yet has other asymmetrical options – such as choking the Strait of Hormuz or plotting terror on foreign soil – that can irritate the US and disrupt peace.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
6 Mar. 2026
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Chan then forced Tay to drink rubbing alcohol and sealed his moth with duct tape — forcing him to choke on his own vomit — before burying him in the makeshift grave.—
Sean Emery,
Oc Register,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The plant had racked up years of cost overruns and technical breakdowns.—
Business Columnist,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Mar. 2026
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The breakdown in relations became one of the most visible symbols of the deep political crisis that engulfed Venezuela during Maduro’s rule, as Washington imposed sweeping sanctions and sought to isolate the socialist government internationally.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Melt down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/melt%20down. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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