as in cracks
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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Recent Examples of melts down
The snowpack acts as a natural water storage system for California, and ideally when the region’s climate shifts from cold to warm and dry, the snow gradually melts down from rivers and creeks to fill reservoirs over a period of months.
—
Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2026
Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for melts down
Verb
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The deal cracks the seven figures, to be split by the writers.—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
11 Mar. 2026
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Gwen then cracks a joke about firing Del Rio's character.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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This action thriller is on pointe with Maddie Ziegler, Lana Condor, Millicent Simmonds, Iris Apatow and Avantika as ballerinas whose bus breaks down going to a major competition in Budapest.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2026
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In real-world conditions, that assumption often breaks down due to damage or interference, leading to major drops in performance.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Mar. 2026
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
Verb
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While Sam begins hallucinating people as puppets, Justin breaks up with him.—
Olivia Singh,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
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Belly, devastated by the betrayal, slaps Jeremiah and breaks up with him.—
Alexandra Hurtado,
PEOPLE,
17 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Melts down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/melts%20down. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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