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

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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.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fall apart

When you look at films like that under a magnifying glass, they tend to fall apart.

From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026

For Bourgeois, that uncertainty may have been helpful as he admits he'd "just fall apart and start crying" if he'd found out about the job.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

If it were to collapse completely it would raise global sea levels by 3 metres, and it also has the potential to fall apart rapidly.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026

But systemic parties such as Yabloko were always cogs in a carefully calibrated machine that could at any point fall apart.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

“And I just have this sinking feeling it’s all going to fall apart, now that we finally have the orchestra and the sets. Like, sorry, but the sets should have been done a week ago.”

From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli

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Related Words

• break down
• collapse
• crumble

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