implode
Americanverb (used without object)
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implodes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
imploded,
past participle, past
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imploding
present participle
verb (used with object)
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implodes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
imploded,
past participle, past
-
imploding
present participle
verb
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to collapse or cause to collapse inwards in a violent manner as a result of external pressure
the vacuum flask imploded
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(tr) to pronounce (a consonant) with or by implosion
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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implodesimple
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implodessimple
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have implodedperfect
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has implodedperfect
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am implodingprogressive
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are implodingprogressive
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is implodingprogressive
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have been implodingperfect progressive
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has been implodingperfect progressive
Past
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implodedsimple
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had implodedperfect
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was implodingprogressive
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were implodingprogressive
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had been implodingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of implode
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."
Vocabulary lists containing implode
100 SAT Words Beginning with "I"
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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
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50 Great Words from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon
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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:
Four goals up on aggregate against LASK, O'Neill's Celtic somehow conspired to implode in a second half with little sign of a response on the way to a 5-4 aggregate loss.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
In these experiments, powerful lasers create shock waves that force a tiny diamond capsule to implode.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026
Watching Graham Platner’s campaign implode was like watching that expensive red sports car get totaled.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
Without getting too complicated into how volatility is calculated, consider this scenario: You’re a money manager and the stock market begins to implode in August.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
After barely nibbling it, she thought her respiratory system was going to implode.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
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
One less thing for Kraken to worry about in rearview mirror as “feel good” story implodes under weight of seven straight losses and expected word of a move to Salt Lake City.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 16, 2024
But when Iyi implodes, Jasper’s actions tell a different story, one that threatens the future of Iyi and the lives of the sisters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2023
The core implodes violently, the exterior rebounds and a supernova explosion results.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Aspiration, an environmentally-conscious bank which imploded in scandal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 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
St. Louis might not have been handed a chance to test his coaching chops in the NHL so soon if Montreal hadn’t imploded in such spectacular fashion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
That all changed when Humza Yousaf's premiership imploded in April 2024.
From BBC ● May 19, 2026
His attention network took on a predictable load as his performance imploded.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
The market might not be imploding so much as readjusting as the tech industry succumbs to more realistic expectations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 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
New Jersey started imploding the day after Christmas in 2024.
From Slate ● Oct. 17, 2025
When she moved from public housing to a three-bedroom home in a suburban area in the Northwood section of town, she was trying to create more distance between her and the city’s imploding center.
From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore
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.
