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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But this idea cracks the Standard Model in a different way, and the simplest patch is to add another slightly ambidextrous, but mostly right-handed, sterile neutrino.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
8 Apr. 2026
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But this celebration of the joys (and practical value) of gardening is also laced with comedy, as Galifianakis cracks plenty of jokes with the experts and kids joining him amongst the greenery.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Ookla also breaks down the user test samples by Wi-Fi generation, offering a glimpse of how many Americans are stuck on older wireless standards and could use an upgrade.—
Michael Kan,
PC Magazine,
6 Apr. 2026
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The children's special breaks down the whole story of Jesus' death and resurrection.—
Lauryn Overhultz,
FOXNews.com,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Iran war chokes Gulf’s helium exports The war in Iran is choking supplies of helium, vital for technologies from AI chatbots to MRI scanners.—
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson,
semafor.com,
2 Apr. 2026
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Like other invasive plants, stinknet chokes native plants and increases fire risk.—
Shi En Kim,
AZCentral.com,
13 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 10 Apr. 2026.
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