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:
The taxpayer took a loss, but the collapse in growth and employment might have been more costly without the support.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
The effort ended with the financial collapse of AllHere.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
The day was in the low 70s, and a breeze was coming through our kitchen window; I decided I would not mind standing at the stove long enough to coax the squash toward sweet collapse.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
Gaza's power system has suffered near-total collapse and approximately 75% of its telecommunications networks have been damaged or destroyed.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
I expect Dad to pry the device from her hands, but his legs collapse from under him.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
“It surges when people are disproportionately betting on upside, and collapses, then greed gives way to fear and bearishness,” he said in a note.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
It isn’t as if she doesn’t have several plans B. And it gives “Techniquely” a winningly informal bouquet, especially when the jokes fall flat and she collapses, mock-groaning, on the cutting board.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
The first approach uses hydrodynamic cavitation, which creates and collapses tiny vapor bubbles in contaminated water.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026
Root's unbeaten 76 at Edgbaston kept England in contention, with a 121-run partnership with Liam Dawson coming between collapses of 6-107 and 4-30, while an undefeated 99 in Cardiff anchored England's successful chase.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Abby collapses to the floor to cuddle with Bieber as soon as we walk into the kitchen.
From "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli
Watch to see how Infantino’s proposal collapsed, and what the future holds for soccer’s governing body.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
After earthquakes struck Emilia-Romagna in 2012, warehouses collapsed around hundreds of thousands of wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano, threatening the livelihoods of the cheesemakers who depended on them.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
The publication of my crime is not what floods me with anxiety: It’s the thumbnail, taken inside Orange County jail after I’d spent close to a month recovering from a collapsed lung in the hospital.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
As the umpire called the winning point, Alexandra Eala collapsed to the ground in tears - knowing her country had been with her for every step of the tournament.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Boaz’s eyes glazed, the color vanishing from his face as he collapsed back onto the ground.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
The prime minister said making more prisoners exempt was not possible without the prison system collapsing and putting the public "at much greater risk".
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
With black smoke belching high into the sky, Lobga staggers some 90 seconds before collapsing in flames and a U.N. security guard rushes over blasting an extinguisher.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Jones Trading’s Michael O’Rourke wants us to pay attention to collapsing AI-token prices.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
The fire broke out on June 17, burning for more than a week and collapsing the 500,000-square-foot facility.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
“This is insane,” Lindsey said, reaching for one, half of it collapsing as she gripped it.
From "The Miseducation of Cameron Post" by emily m. danforth
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.
