melting down

present participle of melt down
as in losing it
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

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 melting down What beef tallow is and how it’s made Beef tallow is a white, shelf-stable cooking fat made by rendering — or melting down — the fatty tissue that surrounds a cow’s organs, according to Michelle Crouch at AARP. Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Kansas City Star, 19 May 2026 Practice non-reaction This can feel counterintuitive, but sometimes the best strategy is to take a pause and not immediately react or intervene when your child is melting down. ​wendy Wisner, Parents, 3 Apr. 2026 Sidestep a financial wrangle if someone is melting down. Tribune Content Agency, Baltimore Sun, 5 Jan. 2026 Explosions near the site had already damaged a high-voltage power line; Ukraine feared the failure of cooling systems that prevent nuclear fuel from melting down. Robin Wright, New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2025 The first of the films is Blue Moon, a sweet-and-sour portrait of the lyricist Lorenz Hart (played by Ethan Hawke) melting down at a bar near the tail end of his Broadway career. David Sims, The Atlantic, 4 Nov. 2025 If those systems fail—or simply run out of diesel—the plant would have no way to stop the nuclear fuel inside those reactors from overheating and potentially melting down. Simon Shuster, Time, 23 Oct. 2025 Grok itself debunks the statement regarding Kirk; Musk’s AI tool cannot find evidence of Steele melting down over people mourning the assassination. Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2025 The secret is melting down pink Himalayan salt to combine it with maple syrup. Abby Hamblin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for melting down
Verb
  • Plastic trays are the least expensive but are also prone to cracking and absorbing odors.
    BestReviews, Mercury News, 19 June 2026
  • Work is continuing to try to stabilize the Pacifica Municipal Pier, which began cracking at its base on June 4 and is now in danger of breaking off and falling into the water.
    John Ramos, CBS News, 16 June 2026
Verb
  • He was also cuffed inside his Bronx home in 2024 after punching a family member in the face and choking them.
    Roni Jacobson, New York Daily News, 16 June 2026
  • Those sharp fragments can cause choking, become lodged in the digestive tract, or even puncture the stomach or intestines.
    Kait Hanson, Southern Living, 15 June 2026
Verb
  • Beating top teams is one (important) thing, breaking down more defensive sides is another.
    Andy Mitten, New York Times, 17 June 2026
  • But the company touts itself as a more sophisticated method than merely detecting if a work is present in training data, rather breaking down on a more granular level how the works are being used.
    Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 10 June 2026
Verb
  • The bag provided the only real contrast in the outfit, breaking up the sea of black without disrupting its clean, minimalist feel.
    Daisy Maldonado, InStyle, 16 June 2026
  • Shortly after breaking up with Dakota, Ainsley started dating Ryder, the high school quarterback.
    Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 15 June 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Melting down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/melting%20down. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster