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

A complex array of financial levers exist to help everyone involved, from lenders and investors down to the lowliest subcontractor, to minimize their exposure should things fall apart.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

A deal with McCormick could come within weeks, assuming the talks don’t fall apart, people familiar with the matter said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

"Fiction is about sharing experiences," he says -- a process that helps us to be "emotionally prepared when something serious happens to us in life, so we don't fall apart."

From Barron's • Mar. 5, 2026

Then, he satirizes conservatives’ discomfort with his Blackness by sitting silently as Martin Short, playing a nervous young Republican delivering a hackneyed diatribe, shudders in his presence before scampering offstage to fall apart.

From Salon • Feb. 22, 2026

I thought Jesse was happy, though in retrospect, the signs were there that he was going to fall apart.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson

Related Words

• break down
• collapse
• crumble