fall apart


verb(intr, adverb)
  1. to break owing to long use or poor construction: the chassis is falling apart

  2. to become disorganized and ineffective: since you resigned, the office has fallen apart

Words Nearby fall apart

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

How to use fall apart in a sentence

  • Martha laughed, and rolling the big, barrel-churn upon its side was more than delighted to see it fall apart, useless.

    Dorothy at Skyrie | Evelyn Raymond
  • Cutting corners—the words began to fall apart, forming curious phrasings—little illuminated pieces of themselves.

    Flappers and Philosophers | F. Scott Fitzgerald
  • The angle at which they walked made one of the clumps of tree before them seem to fall apart.

    The Jewels of Aptor | Samuel R. Delany
  • Experiences that to others are wholes, to the psychologist fall apart into their elements.

    The Science of Human Nature | William Henry Pyle
  • Cook in an uncovered vessel until tender enough to be easily pierced with a fork, but not so soft as to fall apart.

    Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 2 | Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences

Other Idioms and Phrases with fall apart

fall apart

Collapse, break down, either physically or mentally and emotionally. For example, This chair is about to fall apart, or After his wife died, he fell apart. For synonyms for the latter usage, see come apart at the seams; go to pieces.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.