melt down 1 of 2

verb

Definition of melt downnext
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

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meltdown

2 of 2

noun

1
as in tailspin

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Dissimilar Words
2
as in collapse

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of melt down
Verb
Most of the statue was melted down and reformed into musket balls, and several of these are on display in the opening section of the show across from four large intact pieces of the original. — Cat Dawson, ARTnews.com, 3 July 2026 Parents won't spend the day pushing strollers across sprawling pathways trying to cover ground before someone melts down. — Jacqueline Dole, Southern Living, 30 June 2026
Noun
Water from the Danube is used to cool the reactor core and other crucial components, preventing a meltdown in the facility, which produces nearly half of the country’s electricity. — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 3 Aug. 2026 While Mateus Fernandes was fast asleep in Sydney, there was a social media meltdown developing at home. — Elias Burke, New York Times, 2 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for melt down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for melt down
  1. crack
  2. tailspin
  3. collapse
  4. choke
  5. freak-out
  6. disaster
  7. break down
  8. nervous breakdown
Verb
  • Chalk a good part of that up to Wayne Ferreira, the coach Nakashima began working with in June, who previously helped Frances Tiafoe crack the top 10 and who’s helping Nakashima build trust in his own game.
    — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Over four days in July, the AI agents were able to map 21 government systems, crack 85 government user accounts, and extract 2,500 personnel records, according to Dream, an Israeli AI firm that first discovered the attack.
    — John Liu, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of crack
Noun
  • His distance from Henry was painfully emphasized when his son got in trouble for bullying another classmate, and the idea of Michelle (Andrea Anders) getting engaged to someone else sent him into a tailspin.
    — Rachel LaBonte, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Aug. 2026
  • But a trip to New York City sent Riley back into a tailspin, an alarming and frustrating three games at the plate for the 31-year-old.
    — Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 31 July 2026
Definition of tailspin
Noun
  • Charted out, the twin collapses of the income and inheritance taxes look like a roller coaster careening downhill, picking up speed toward and through the twenty-first century.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Cameron Brink injured in Sparks’ loss Sabrina Ionescu scored 20 points and the New York Liberty avoided one of the biggest collapses in WNBA history, holding off the Sparks 85-81 on Thursday night.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of collapse
Verb
  • The escalating tally underscores how far the two sides remain from resolving a crisis that has choked the Strait of Hormuz for more than five months.
    — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 10 Aug. 2026
  • More than 50 hectares (124 acres) of peatland have burned in Jambi province on Sumatra island, causing choking haze in some areas and raising concerns about worsening air quality.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of choke
Noun
  • The Derby’s question is quite often decided by whichever colt or filly has the racing focus and the strength not to succumb to his or her ambient freak-out.
    — Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
  • Even so, the nation’s collective freak-out should serve as a wake-up call to both the food industry and regulators.
    — Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 17 July 2026
Definition of freak-out
Noun
  • The club was rebuilding after the 1958 Munich air disaster but won a first post-Munich trophy, the FA Cup, earlier that year.
    — Andy Mitten, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026
  • In nearby Anderson in Madison County, Indiana, the mayor declared a local disaster emergency and issued evacuation orders Thursday along the swelling White River and other waterways.
    — Dalia Faheid, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of disaster
Verb
  • Those membranes break down easily and demand immense amounts of electrical power to force the reaction through.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 10 Aug. 2026
  • These substances break down very slowly over time and remain in the environment, while scientific evidence increasingly raises concerns about their impact on human health.
    — Cleo Levin, Footwear News, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of break down
Noun
  • Embodied by Maradona, successive Argentinean national teams played with flair and toughness and an element of chaos, often on the edge of nervous breakdown.
    — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 16 July 2026
  • After suffering a nervous breakdown and being taken care of by Marlon Brando’s daughter Cheyenne in Tahiti, Jones eventually returned to his life as a mogul of music, television and magazines.
    — Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 3 July 2026
Definition of nervous breakdown

Browse Nearby Words

melt (away)
melt down
meltdown
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Cite this Entry

“Melt down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/melt%20down. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

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