implode

American  

[im-plohd] / ɪmˈploʊd /

verb (used without object)

• implodes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• imploded,
  past participle,  past
• imploding
  present participle

1. to burst inward (opposed to explode).

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verb (used with object)

• implodes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• imploded,
  past participle,  past
• imploding
  present participle

1. Phonetics. to pronounce by implosion.

implode British  

/ ɪmˈpləʊd /

verb

1. to collapse or cause to collapse inwards in a violent manner as a result of external pressure

   the vacuum flask imploded

2. (tr) to pronounce (a consonant) with or by implosion

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• imploding
  present
• imploded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• implode
  simple
• implodes
  simple
• have imploded
  perfect
• has imploded
  perfect
• am imploding
  progressive
• are imploding
  progressive
• is imploding
  progressive
• have been imploding
  perfect progressive
• has been imploding
  perfect progressive

Past

• imploded
  simple
• had imploded
  perfect
• was imploding
  progressive
• were imploding
  progressive
• had been imploding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will implode
  simple
• will have imploded
  perfect
• will be imploding
  progressive
• will have been imploding
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of implode

First recorded in 1880–85; im- ¹ + (ex)plode

Explanation

When something implodes, it explodes inward — instead of outward. With extremely large buildings, it helps to implode them rather than explode them, because by falling inward they take up less space. Why bother to have a word like implode when you already have explode? Well, imagine there is something deep beneath the sea, being subjected to the intense pressure there. If the pressure is high enough that the object bursts, it would collapse in rather than out. It would, in fact, implode. People also sometimes use implode to describe a person subjected to intense pressures who, emotionally at least, bursts inward: "All that stress just made Jess implode."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

implode implodes imploded imploding

Watching Graham Platner’s campaign implode was like watching that expensive red sports car get totaled.

From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026

But any nominee will have to unite Platner's wounded supporters with moderates, independents and women voters wary of a party that just watched its chosen candidate implode.

From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026

In 2008, it had to reverse course rapidly as banks imploded, and again in 2011 as the entire euro system threatened to implode.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 5, 2026

As history has proved, titans of industry often share a regrettable tendency to make a lot of money from leveraging enthusiasm and then leaving others to clean up the mess when the markets implode.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026

If she missed any of them, her plan would implode.

From "City Spies" by James Ponti

If the AI trade implodes, that case only gets stronger.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

"The idea the labor market has turned a corner implodes with this report."

From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2026

Part 1 of the fourth season, which was released last month, finally saw Gabriel and Emily rekindle their romance just as his chance at a coveted Michelin star implodes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2024

It is essential, especially as we all watch in grief as the Middle East implodes, to hasten our way to renewable energy sources and clean transit options.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 20, 2023

The core implodes violently, the exterior rebounds and a supernova explosion results.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

The company imploded and the stock went to zero “with little preamble,” Grantham wrote.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026

For a while, experts linked the decline to the recession that struck in 2008 when the global financial system nearly imploded, driving millions of people into hardship.

From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026

In 2008, it had to reverse course rapidly as banks imploded, and again in 2011 as the entire euro system threatened to implode.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 5, 2026

The company imploded after a dispute with bank partners revealed a massive shortfall in customer funds and a failure to keep accurate ledgers, according to court filings in Synapse’s bankruptcy proceeding.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 17, 2026

She held herself together for a few seconds but then imploded.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers

If the robot detects a problem, such as a knee joint that stops responding, it will try to recover its balance; if it can’t, he said, it will collapse onto itself like an imploding building.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026

He made his name in Brazil's first division with Cruzeiro, a huge club who - after a highly successful few years - were imploding under the weight of debts and off-the-field scandals.

From BBC ● May 27, 2026

The big question is whether there’s a risk of it suddenly imploding.

From MarketWatch ● May 17, 2026

The boom in companies holding large stocks of cryptos has been a hot play this year, but that trade is now at risk of imploding and dragging down the rest of the sector with it.

From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2025

All my anger had fled, imploding back into my chest, slipping down the event horizon of the churning supermassive black hole inside me.

From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram

Related Words

• cave in
• fall down