collapse
Americanverb (used without object)
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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)
noun
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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:
Andy Burnham has told the BBC "the NHS will collapse" if social care is not reformed but said he could not put a timeline on changes.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
But experts say existing protections would collapse without the legal architecture of the consent decree to support them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
The ceremony was held at the presidential Blue House just months after Roh’s father, Roh Tae-woo, became South Korea’s first president after the collapse of the country’s military dictatorship.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
The majority are in the north, where 1.2 million people have left since the Soviet collapse in 1991.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
Hazel also knew that the instant her own concentration wavered and that darkness touched her, she would collapse.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
It isn’t as if she doesn’t have several plans B. And it gives “Techniquely” a winningly informal bouquet, especially when the jokes fall flat and she collapses, mock-groaning, on the cutting board.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Root's unbeaten 76 at Edgbaston kept England in contention, with a 121-run partnership with Liam Dawson coming between collapses of 6-107 and 4-30, while an undefeated 99 in Cardiff anchored England's successful chase.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
This detail matters because it collapses the false divide between pleasure and care.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
Staff there lost over $1 billion in the collapse, which took place, like many collapses, in a matter of weeks.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
I tramp a perpetual journey All goes onward and outward.... and nothing collapses, And to die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier.
From "Paper Towns" by John Green
"The immediate fundamentals of semiconductors have not collapsed," wrote Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
Police said they received numerous calls after multi-storey scaffolding along Cheung Sha Wan Road collapsed in powerful winds on Saturday.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
StarHub and M1 could announce a deal in 2026, the analyst says in a note, after the M1-Simba deal collapsed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Measles cases in the U.S. just set a depressing record, making 2026 the worst year for the disease since the Soviet Union collapsed.
From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026
The Goldman saleswoman made a weak effort to claim that, even as the index of subprime mortgage bonds collapsed, the market for insuring them hadn’t budged.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
And the midtempo ballad “The Knife” describes a collapsing relationship as a mortal threat, akin to a dagger jabbed into one’s side or a case of kerosene waiting to be ignited.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Rather than collapsing to the turf in tears, or pulling his shirt over his face, Batty held his head high.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Kasen has also suggested that if a collapsing star forms a black hole instead of a magnetar, it could likewise produce an unusually bright supernova.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 6, 2026
The camaraderie was evident on the ground here in La Guaira, the coastal city where quake damage was most severe, collapsing dozens of buildings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026
She stood, her chair scraping like Moss’s had, and she moved into the wings, collapsing into a man’s arms.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
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.
