meltdown

American  

[melt-doun] / ˈmɛltˌdaʊn /

noun

1. the melting of a significant portion of a nuclear-reactor core due to inadequate cooling of the fuel elements, a condition that could lead to the escape of radiation.

2. a quickly developing breakdown or collapse.

   a bond-market meltdown;

   the meltdown of a marriage.

3. Informal. a sudden loss of control over one’s feelings or behavior.

   My toddler had a meltdown when I tried to leave the house.

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meltdown British  

/ ˈmɛltˌdaʊn /

noun

1. (in a nuclear reactor) the melting of the fuel rods as a result of a defect in the cooling system, with the possible escape of radiation into the environment

2. informal a sudden disastrous failure with potential for widespread harm, as a stock-exchange crash

3. informal the process or state of irreversible breakdown or decline

   the community is slowly going into meltdown

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meltdown Scientific  

/ mĕlt′doun′ /

1. Severe overheating of a nuclear reactor core, resulting in melting of the core and escape of radiation.

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meltdown Cultural  

1. The most serious accident that can occur at a nuclear reactor. In a meltdown, the radioactive material in the reactor becomes very hot, melting some or all of the fuel in the reactor. A meltdown may or may not be followed by the release of radioactive material to the environment. A partial meltdown, with very little external radiation, occurred at Three Mile Island (see also Three Mile Island) in 1979; a complete meltdown happened at Chernobyl in 1986.

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Etymology

Origin of meltdown

First recorded in 1960–65; noun use of verb phrase melt down

Example Sentences

Anthropic, which touched off last week’s market meltdown with advancements to Claude, ranks as one of the top initial public offerings in the pipeline for this year.

From Barron's

Many nuclear-power plants have fewer reactors than initially planned because of spiraling costs and waning enthusiasm for the technology after the partial meltdown at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania in the late 1970s.

From The Wall Street Journal

As if Dad breaks expensive electronics so frequently his meltdown isn’t worth discussing.

From Literature

The facility had been offline since Japan pulled the plug on nuclear power after a colossal earthquake and tsunami sent three reactors at the Fukushima atomic plant into meltdown.

From Barron's

Picking through the debris of the recent software stock slump, bitcoin’s regular winter meltdown, the dollar’s ongoing malaise and the memification of precious metals reveals an interesting, although perhaps not surprising, discovery.

From Barron's

Related Words

• accident
• adversity
• calamity
• casualty
• cataclysm
• crash
• debacle
• devastation
• disaster
• emergency
• failure
• fiasco
• hardship
• misery
• mishap
• tragedy
• trouble
• wreck