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Synonyms

fall apart

British  

verb

  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
"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
fall apart Idioms  

  1. 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.

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.

“What am I gonna do? Fall apart in the canned vegetable aisle?”

From Washington Post • Jul. 9, 2018

Fall apart and thus turn into a devil to protect our country.

From Time Magazine Archive

In a war song contest run by Tokyo's Mainichi Shimbun, the first prize went to: Fall apart like the petals of a flower for the Emperor's sake.

From Time Magazine Archive

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.