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:
The label’s tenure coincides with the collapse of the record business and the rise of streaming and the resurgence of vinyl.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Just two years after the 62-year-old actor snapped up the modern 4,000-square-foot home, shocking images have revealed extensive damage outside the residence, with the collapse cracking open the sidewalk and leaving behind a gaping hole.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
In the 1980s, Japanese buyers began pushing up the prices of matsutake mushrooms and looking for them abroad after environmental degradation led to a collapse in yields at home.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
Illnesses related to the dust and smoke from the towers' collapse have claimed more lives than the nearly 3,000 who died in the attacks on the city, US health officials have said.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
The peace deal was on the brink of collapse.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
Not all disasters are foreseeable but those that relate to geology, like landslides and glacier collapses, can often be detected early in the data, if there is capacity to spot the pattern.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
It’s one of the most epic collapses for a league champion in MLS history.
From Los Angeles Times ● 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
"So you are going to get more landslides, debris flows, glacial meltwater, lake outbursts, glacier collapses, because climate warming ultimately destabilises these high mountain environments."
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
“See, they’ve modified it so it collapses and you can sit down. Isn’t that just marvelous? And look at the silhouette.”
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
Settlement talks collapsed in late August after Bonta accused Paramount of leaking and misrepresenting their discussions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Large chunks of concrete could be seen scattered around and inside the collapsed area, while orange traffic cones cordoned off the site as workers surveyed the damage.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
In this scenario, dense, water-rich portions of Earth's cooler outer crust periodically sagged downward and collapsed into the hotter mantle, transporting water with them.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
He was left out of De Zerbi's Premier League squad after a proposed deadline-day return to former club Everton collapsed.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
The wooden building on the corner collapsed into a heap.
From "I Survived the Great Alaska Earthquake, 1964" by Lauren Tarshis
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
Last spring, about a year and a half after Azerbaijan regained control of the territory, fragile talks between Pashinyan and Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, looked in danger of collapsing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
It didn't respond to a request for comment, but it has rejected suggestions that its influence is collapsing, saying hundreds of candidates it backed have won their primaries.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
It notes that, while the exact sequence of events is still being determined, experts believe the flash floods were caused by a collapsing glacier in Tibet.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
In that way, Duane managed to complete his journeys without collapsing from sheer exhaustion.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
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.
