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
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of melt down
Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2026
Experts feared it would be melted down for its gold.
—Ryan Brennan
april 10, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Apr. 2026
John Cassidy, New Yorker, 11 May 2026
The meltdown peaked in the fourth inning when Willson Contreras and Wilyer Abreu launched back-to-back homers, pushing the score to a humiliating 10-2.
—Alejandro Avila Outkick, FOXNews.com, 6 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for melt down
Verb
The former Exide Technologies plant in Vernon melted down pallets of lead-acid car batteries in blast furnaces for nearly a century, blanketing up to 10,000 nearby properties with toxic dust, according to state officials.
—Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2026
Experts feared it would be melted down for its gold.
—Ryan Brennan
april 10, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Apr. 2026
Noun
Right now, the source of the disruption in the airline industry is the President’s blundering rather than a financial meltdown that originated on Wall Street.
—John Cassidy, New Yorker, 11 May 2026
The meltdown peaked in the fourth inning when Willson Contreras and Wilyer Abreu launched back-to-back homers, pushing the score to a humiliating 10-2.
—Alejandro Avila Outkick, FOXNews.com, 6 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for melt down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for melt down
Verb
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Within that group are 14 newcomers who have never previously cracked the top 50 (setting aside names like Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, who appeared on the list in 2024 before dropping off in 2025).—
Brett Knight,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2026
-
Soon doctors and others will snatch fire axes to crack through the cabinets’ Plexiglas fronts and pry open the doors.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
22 May 2026
Noun
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Beijing also made a clear warning that the Taiwan issue would be a determining factor that could push the bilateral ties into a tailspin.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
15 May 2026
-
Monday’s announcement sent logistics stocks in a tailspin, with GXO shares plummeting more than 17 percent during the day.—
Glenn Taylor,
Footwear News,
6 May 2026
Noun
-
The film centers on Abdul Ahad Momand, who traveled to the Mir space station in 1988 as Afghanistan neared collapse – a moment of brief national hope that has since been largely scrubbed from public memory.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
22 May 2026
-
Perhaps there is a collapse coming, the duo seems to say, as the ability of our systems to sustain themselves gets shakier.—
Dash Lewis,
Pitchfork,
22 May 2026
Noun
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The episode was almost entirely about Margo and her continued freak-out.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
24 Apr. 2026
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Goldman Reinforced The Shift If the legal news was a spark, the Goldman announcement just days later was gasoline on the industry freak-out fire.—
Cat Casey,
Forbes.com,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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With Edgewater in the flood zone and Station 42 and Three Rock in disaster response mode, Bode (Max Thieriot) was on a side quest to make amends with Danny Marks (Mike O'Malley), a victim of Bode's criminal past.—
Britt Hayes,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 May 2026
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Through packing serious, scalable power into a mobile shipping container, VIVIFY is targeting remote industrial sites, disaster zones, forward military bases, and power-hungry data centers.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
22 May 2026
Noun
-
This happened years before, in such a serious way that my friend had to take a three-month medical leave of absence due to what was likely a nervous breakdown.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Apr. 2026
-
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
Noun
-
For much the same reason, developers, architects and builders are starting to stress proactively designing for climate catastrophe.—
Jeffrey Steele,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
-
Local elections in England are usually low-stakes affairs, but this year’s results proved to be a catastrophe for the Labour Party.—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
The Strait of Hormuz remains choked.—
Jason Kirsch,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2026
-
The woman said she was beaten and choked for hours.—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
18 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Melt down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/melt%20down. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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