collapse
Americanverb (used without object)
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collapses,
present (3rd person singular)
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collapsed,
past participle, past
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collapsing
present participle
-
to fall or cave in; crumble suddenly.
The roof collapsed and buried the crowd.
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to be made so that sections or parts can be folded up, as for convenient storage.
This bridge table collapses.
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to break down; come to nothing; fail.
Despite all their efforts the peace talks collapsed.
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to fall unconscious or as if unconscious or physically depleted, as from a stroke, heart attack, disease, or exhaustion.
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Pathology.
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to sink into extreme weakness.
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(of lungs) to come into an airless state.
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verb (used with object)
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collapses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
collapsed,
past participle, past
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collapsing
present participle
noun
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collapses
plural
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a falling in or together.
Three miners were trapped by the collapse of the tunnel roof.
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a sudden, complete failure; breakdown.
The bribery scandal brought about the complete collapse of his industrial empire.
verb
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(intr) to fall down or cave in suddenly
the whole building collapsed
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(intr) to fail completely
his story collapsed on investigation
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(intr) to break down or fall down from lack of strength
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to fold (furniture, etc) compactly or (of furniture, etc) to be designed to fold compactly
noun
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the act or instance of suddenly falling down, caving in, or crumbling
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a sudden failure or breakdown
Usage
What does collapse mean? Collapse means to break apart suddenly, as in The rickety bridge collapsed into the river. If something collapses, it falls apart or caves in quickly and suddenly. Usually, something collapses because it’s unable to support its own weight. Collapse can also be used figuratively to mean to fail or break down, as in The party quickly collapsed when two groups started fighting with each other. Collapse can also mean to fall unconscious or to pass out, as in The marathon runner collapsed due to heat stroke. Collapse can also be used as a noun in any of these senses, as in She determined that the coins dated back to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Example: I had to rebuild my house of cards after the wobbly table caused it to collapse.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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collapsesimple
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collapsessimple
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have collapsedperfect
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has collapsedperfect
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am collapsingprogressive
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are collapsingprogressive
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is collapsingprogressive
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have been collapsingperfect progressive
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has been collapsingperfect progressive
Past
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collapsedsimple
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had collapsedperfect
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was collapsingprogressive
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were collapsingprogressive
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had been collapsingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of collapse
First recorded in 1725–35; from Latin collāpsus “fallen together,” past participle of collābī “to fall down, fall together, fall into ruins,” from col- col- 1 + lābī “to fall, slide, make a mistake”
Explanation
To collapse means to fall over, cave in, or totally crumple. After finding out that the stock market has collapsed and your investments along with it, you'd probably collapse to the ground and sob uncontrollably. From the Latin collapsus, meaning “fall together," comes our English collapse, a word that functions as both noun and verb. Empires collapse after revolutions, and your dog will eventually collapse from exhaustion if he keeps chasing his tail in circles. But if a company falls apart after the boss retires, or you have a total breakdown cramming for exams, that's a kind of collapse, too.
Vocabulary lists containing collapse
The Great Depression and The New Deal
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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:
Hall led the party through the exceedingly challenging times of the Cold War era, the aftermath of McCarthyism, and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union.
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2026
Sutton said his old club have been "flat-track bullies" by "beating the teams you expect them to beat", but the collapse in Austria, plus Sunday's bruising loss, has highlighted glaring deficiencies.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
South Carolina regulators are seeking court-supervised rehabilitation of A-CAP-run insurers, alleging they exposed policyholders to risky private credit, including investments tied to the collapse of 777 Partners.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
That enormous star can then collapse and create a black hole seed.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
It had been four days since Lehman Brothers had been allowed to fail, but the most powerful effects of the collapse were being felt right now.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
That means that if the building’s elevator collapses or there is a fire that severely damages the building, homeowners are on the hook to pay for the repairs.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
Such a policy shift would also likely turn a recent sharp fall in house prices into one of the biggest collapses seen in half a century.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Thousands of people have experienced health effects like cancer from the terrorist attacks, including many who have died, after breathing in hazardous contaminants from the building collapses.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
Extremely small black holes could arise from special critical states in which even a tiny addition of energy can determine whether the system disperses or collapses.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
He collapses into the dining booth and looks up at the over-cab bunk where he’s supposed to sleep.
From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone
The plan was seen as the final realistic option to avoid a special administration regime, after a previous deal with a US private equity giant collapsed.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Crews have been working toward removing and delinking them, Cortez said, but had not been able to get to them because the wall they were against could have collapsed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
After the case against Jeramy Roebuck collapsed, the authorities seemingly had no other leads in their hunt for the men who had victimized Mark and Rita.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
As the Oregon Ducks collapsed into the most shocking upset of the college football season last week, only one man knew exactly what was going wrong.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Exhausted, he had staggered forward and collapsed on the shore.
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
Two 25-year-old men have died after collapsing during the Great North Run, the event's organiser said.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
Further south, at least seven homes in Dana Point were declared uninhabitable after the coast on which they sit rapidly eroded, with one house collapsing into the sea.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
Folk singer Ray LaMontange was treated for heat-related dehydration after collapsing onstage during a weekend performance amid triple-digit heat in Nashville.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Instead of collapsing, Salesforce last month reported better-than-projected sales and profits, crediting AI for an assist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
Uncle Al climbs onto the bench with the driver, practically collapsing with grief.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
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.
