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
The Sports Desk, NBC news, 16 Feb. 2026
Inside the Arts District campus workspace, plastic donations are sorted, shredded and melted down using specialized equipment before being molded into new objects or artwork.
—Spencer Wilson, CBS News, 11 Feb. 2026
Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2026
In 2001, Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill attempted to explicitly book the value of pay-as-you-go liabilities but several events later that year – including the 9/11 attacks and the Enron meltdown – shifted the focus toward more immediate challenges.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for melt down
Verb
Hello from Milan and Cortina, where the USA women’s hockey team will face a familiar foe in the gold-medal game, two Americans were on the podium in women’s monobob and a Norwegian skier melted down after losing out on a medal.
—The Sports Desk, NBC news, 16 Feb. 2026
Inside the Arts District campus workspace, plastic donations are sorted, shredded and melted down using specialized equipment before being molded into new objects or artwork.
—Spencer Wilson, CBS News, 11 Feb. 2026
Noun
Its preliminary success and subsequent meltdown is another indictment of those who think that welcoming big names and events — the World Cup, the Olympics — is the way to save us.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2026
In 2001, Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill attempted to explicitly book the value of pay-as-you-go liabilities but several events later that year – including the 9/11 attacks and the Enron meltdown – shifted the focus toward more immediate challenges.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for melt down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for melt down
Verb
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These images are perplexing, thrilling—visual nuts to crack.—
Naomi Fry,
New Yorker,
14 Mar. 2026
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Grout's biggest challenge is cracking from improper installation or too much moisture.—
Ashlyn Needham,
Southern Living,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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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
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The tailspin began on a Thursday night, with a Lions-Cowboys game.—
McKay Coppins,
The Atlantic,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
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In New York City, the collapse hasn’t been so dire; production has reached roughly 50 percent of its mid-2000s apex, according to one analysis.—
M. Nolan Gray,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
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There’s also a whole bunch of stress building up over in Trauma 2 thanks to the ever-present tension between Langdon and Santos, which hits new heights when they’re forced to work on one of the victims of a slide collapse at a waterpark.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
13 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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Rushing through your plans is a recipe for disaster, so avoid attempting to multitask.—
Tarot.com,
Baltimore Sun,
13 Mar. 2026
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The disaster led to an extensive decontamination effort to clean up nuclear material dispersed when conventional explosives in the hydrogen bombs detonated after hitting the ground.—
Kim Tong-Hyung,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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As for this devastated, miserable, freaked out, walking nervous breakdown of a man?—
Stephen Schaefer,
Boston Herald,
25 Nov. 2025
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The 1970s were Hollywood’s nervous breakdown.—
Remy Blumenfeld,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Like other invasive plants, stinknet chokes native plants and increases fire risk.—
Shi En Kim,
AZCentral.com,
13 Mar. 2026
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With fuel and freight prices skyrocketing as war chokes the Strait of Hormuz, the Panama Canal is seeing more business than usual.—
Elizabeth González,
CNN Money,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Here's a breakdown of the eligibility requirements by program type.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
12 Mar. 2026
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The table below provides a quick breakdown of which provider is best based on different situations.—
Dan Simms,
USA Today,
12 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Melt down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/melt%20down. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026.
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