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)
-
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:
A second buyer has made a rescue bid for Poundland as the discount retailer teeters on the brink of collapse, with thousands of jobs at risk.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
Trying to determine their state can cause that state to collapse, potentially erasing the very information scientists want to retrieve.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026
“That tells me this is still more of a repricing of expectations than a collapse in the AI growth story.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
But some analysts aren’t predicting a collapse in the development of data centers, which are crucial to the booming artificial-intelligence industry.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2026
Luckily for us, stars don’t collapse because there is another force at work: nuclear fusion.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Several Poundland suppliers have said they would also go bust if the retailer collapses.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
Critics say the animals suffer, pointing to deadly collapses and dangerous escapes, while advocates point to the jobs they create and the heritage they uphold.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
Calderas are large depressions that generally form when the ground collapses after magma is removed from an underground chamber.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2026
The schisms at Westish are mirrored in Pella’s deteriorating relationship with Mike, which collapses during Owen’s glitzy destination wedding on Block Island, R.I.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
Hence the effect on society is catastrophic when state government collapses, as happened in Britain upon the removal of Roman troops, administrators, and coinage between A.D.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Bloomberg said the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index had collapsed around 16 percent this week, putting it on course for its worst run since April last year.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
Gareth Hopkins, 43, a paramedic from Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, collapsed during the race on 26 April when his heart stopped due to severe rhabdomyolysis, caused by overheating.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
Just days before Weil collapsed, the firm’s recruiting machine was still humming.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
Rachel Apa, a former Division I field hockey player and first-time marathon runner, died Sunday after she collapsed while participating in the New York City Marathon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
Then she collapsed into the arms of the women around her.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
Now, instead of collapsing, Black representation is expected to remain relatively steady in Congress.
From Slate ● Nov. 5, 2026
They won one game with Gardner before collapsing down the stretch with seven consecutive losses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
They can escape from environments surrounding collapsing stars and black holes, carrying information that other forms of radiation might not reveal.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2026
In the city of Limoges, the clock tower and parts of the roof of the ornate city hall were engulfed in flames before collapsing on Saturday.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
Here and there, tendrils of its curling white churn seemed to rise up and peer about before collapsing again into the tidal flow like whitecaps sucked back into the surf.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
