Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

climate breakdown

American  
[klahy-mit breyk-doun] / ˈklaɪ mɪt ˌbreɪk daʊn /

noun

Climatology.
  1. the collective effects of harmful and potentially irreversible trends in climate, specifically those resulting from unchecked global warming.

    In September 2023, the United Nations announced that “climate breakdown has begun.”


Etymology

Origin of climate breakdown

First recorded in 2000–05

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:

Now, there is certainly a feeling of never having been more aware of our mortality collectively — the pandemic, of course, and facing the ongoing existential threat of climate breakdown.

From Los Angeles Times May 19, 2025

A mass roll-out of such restaurants could help tackle the UK's food poverty and malnutrition, while also increasing agriculture's resilience to climate breakdown and raising farmers' incomes.

From Salon Dec. 11, 2024

The nature presenter and environmentalist will also meet with energy and net zero secretary Ed Miliband "to discuss future progress addressing climate breakdown", his lawyers said.

From BBC Oct. 29, 2024

And it also draws on research that shows that the heat dome that they saw in 2021 was exacerbated by climate breakdown.

From Slate Jul. 30, 2023

“We want to have this conversation, and to bring it around to our demand about what we need to do to avoid climate breakdown and collapse,” Ms. Carrington said.

From New York Times Oct. 26, 2022

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training