collapse
Americanverb (used without object)
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collapses,
present (3rd person singular)
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collapsed,
past participle, past
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collapsing
present participle
-
to fall or cave in; crumble suddenly.
The roof collapsed and buried the crowd.
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to be made so that sections or parts can be folded up, as for convenient storage.
This bridge table collapses.
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to break down; come to nothing; fail.
Despite all their efforts the peace talks collapsed.
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to fall unconscious or as if unconscious or physically depleted, as from a stroke, heart attack, disease, or exhaustion.
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Pathology.
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to sink into extreme weakness.
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(of lungs) to come into an airless state.
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verb (used with object)
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collapses,
present (3rd person singular)
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collapsed,
past participle, past
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collapsing
present participle
noun
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collapses
plural
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a falling in or together.
Three miners were trapped by the collapse of the tunnel roof.
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a sudden, complete failure; breakdown.
The bribery scandal brought about the complete collapse of his industrial empire.
verb
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(intr) to fall down or cave in suddenly
the whole building collapsed
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(intr) to fail completely
his story collapsed on investigation
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(intr) to break down or fall down from lack of strength
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to fold (furniture, etc) compactly or (of furniture, etc) to be designed to fold compactly
noun
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the act or instance of suddenly falling down, caving in, or crumbling
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a sudden failure or breakdown
Usage
What does collapse mean? Collapse means to break apart suddenly, as in The rickety bridge collapsed into the river. If something collapses, it falls apart or caves in quickly and suddenly. Usually, something collapses because it’s unable to support its own weight. Collapse can also be used figuratively to mean to fail or break down, as in The party quickly collapsed when two groups started fighting with each other. Collapse can also mean to fall unconscious or to pass out, as in The marathon runner collapsed due to heat stroke. Collapse can also be used as a noun in any of these senses, as in She determined that the coins dated back to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Example: I had to rebuild my house of cards after the wobbly table caused it to collapse.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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collapsesimple
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collapsessimple
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have collapsedperfect
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has collapsedperfect
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am collapsingprogressive
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are collapsingprogressive
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is collapsingprogressive
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have been collapsingperfect progressive
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has been collapsingperfect progressive
Past
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collapsedsimple
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had collapsedperfect
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was collapsingprogressive
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were collapsingprogressive
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had been collapsingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of collapse
First recorded in 1725–35; from Latin collāpsus “fallen together,” past participle of collābī “to fall down, fall together, fall into ruins,” from col- col- 1 + lābī “to fall, slide, make a mistake”
Explanation
To collapse means to fall over, cave in, or totally crumple. After finding out that the stock market has collapsed and your investments along with it, you'd probably collapse to the ground and sob uncontrollably. From the Latin collapsus, meaning “fall together," comes our English collapse, a word that functions as both noun and verb. Empires collapse after revolutions, and your dog will eventually collapse from exhaustion if he keeps chasing his tail in circles. But if a company falls apart after the boss retires, or you have a total breakdown cramming for exams, that's a kind of collapse, too.
Vocabulary lists containing collapse
The Great Depression and The New Deal
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"A Retrieved Reformation" by O. Henry
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“While there are indeed factors contributing to ‘over-earning’ today, our base case is for S&P 500 earnings growth to decelerate, not collapse, in coming years,” they said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026
Instead of leaving Nashville with a win, Bailey went home as the culprit in what may be the most ignominious collapse in the history of college football.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
"Since the 1970s, mathematical models have predicted that large, complex ecosystems should destabilize and collapse," Montanari said.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026
The Fire Department said that eight units of an apartment building on Grace Avenue above the collapse were evacuated, according to a 3:30 p.m. update.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
I prayed that their entire turning machine would collapse in a heap.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
That means that if the building’s elevator collapses or there is a fire that severely damages the building, homeowners are on the hook to pay for the repairs.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
To bridge that gap, standard quantum mechanics says that when a quantum system is measured or observed, its wavefunction collapses into a single definite outcome.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026
Scientists say that similar to the bursting of lakes formed by retreating glaciers, these collapses reflect a complex intersection of causes, including the effects of climate change.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
But climate change is causing glaciers to melt worldwide, increasing the risks of glacial lake floods and glacial collapses.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
I follow Finnick until he collapses on the ground, Peeta still on top of him.
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
Crews have been working toward removing and delinking them, Cortez said, but had not been able to get to them because the wall they were against could have collapsed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
"A year ago today, while playing soccer, I collapsed due to an undiagnosed cardiac arrhythmia, that caused me to go into cardiac arrest," she wrote.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
The petition alleges the insurers exposed policyholders to non-investment-grade private credit and investments tied to collapsed investment firm 777 Partners that could be worth “substantially” less than forecast.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
The administration also claims that “severe structural deterioration” could require tearing down the building, citing an incident in which a chunk of ceiling collapsed during a recent storm.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
She reached the roots of the fallen tree, lowered herself down, and collapsed to the earth.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged to proceed with an unpopular economic overhaul despite his collapsing popularity and recent electoral routs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
Further south, at least seven homes in Dana Point were declared uninhabitable after the coast on which they sit rapidly eroded, with one house collapsing into the sea.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
Not everyone sees virtue in collapsing those boundaries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Beneath the fantastical plot, it’s also a portrait of a woman collapsing under the weight of her suffering.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Vincent, who should have stood the conditions well, was also close to collapsing.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
