melt down 1 of 2

verb

Definition of melt downnext
as in to crack
to yield to mental or emotional stress rather than melt down, the team strengthened their resolve and ended up winning the game

Synonyms & Similar Words

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meltdown

2 of 2

noun

1
as in tailspin

Related Words

Dissimilar Words
2
as in collapse

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of melt down
Verb
Tin cans are also melted down and turned into aluminium for jewelry. — Emese MacZko, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026 At one point, his statue in Charlottesville, Virginia, was melted down into two tons of bronze ingots. — Tara Sonenshine, Baltimore Sun, 11 July 2026
Noun
Nuclear power development stalled after high-profile accidents such as the 1979 Three Mile Island meltdown and the 1986 Chernobyl disaster fueled public fears of the technology. — Roxy Ekberg, NBC news, 24 Aug. 2026 The 15-year total is based on TEPCO’s official radiation tracking reports, analyzed by Jiji Press, covering the period from the 2011 meltdown through March of this year. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 24 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for melt down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for melt down
  1. crack
  2. tailspin
  3. collapse
  4. choke
  5. freak-out
  6. disaster
  7. break down
  8. nervous breakdown
Verb
  • Videos show crowds trying to flee a surging wall of mud, rows of buses and trucks swept aside like toys, and bridges cracked apart and swept away.
    — Josh Feldman, NBC news, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Popular and literary myth tells that when martyrs die on the soil, the earth receiving their blood will give forth new fighters, thus the roses scattered on the cracking mud.
    — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of crack
Noun
  • The vision of her administering fertility shots in the green room before going on air to discuss her future political career sent the internet in a tailspin.
    — Dr. Jaime Knopman, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2026
  • His distance from Henry was painfully emphasized when his son got in trouble for bullying another classmate, and the idea of Michelle (Andrea Anders) getting engaged to someone else sent him into a tailspin.
    — Rachel LaBonte, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of tailspin
Noun
  • Escaping an energy collapse Things didn’t collapse as analysts feared at the beginning of the conflict.
    — Katie Silver, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2026
  • The letter provides the most complete window into Kapoor’s thinking since the collapse of his company, Location Ventures, three years ago.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of collapse
Verb
  • Almost constant air raids in Kyiv have now reached their third day, choking the economy in the Ukrainian capital and severely disrupting civilian life more than 4½ years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Both victims were illegally choked to death by white police officers.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of choke
Noun
  • The Derby’s question is quite often decided by whichever colt or filly has the racing focus and the strength not to succumb to his or her ambient freak-out.
    — Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
  • Even so, the nation’s collective freak-out should serve as a wake-up call to both the food industry and regulators.
    — Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 17 July 2026
Definition of freak-out
Noun
  • Displaced from their homes, hundreds of families resettled on the low-lying banks of the Trishuli river – only to face yet another horrific disaster on Wednesday.
    — Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Purchase and install emergency generators, integrate electrical systems, and conduct testing and preparedness activities so participating rural hospitals can maintain critical services during outages and disasters.
    — Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Arkansas Online, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of disaster
Verb
  • Last year’s summer transfer deadline day saw Liverpool’s move for Marc Guehi and Leeds United’s pursuit of Harry Wilson break down late in the day.
    — Leon Imber, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2026
  • The liver breaks down various forms of vitamin K into metabolites, which are released into the bloodstream.
    — Ayesha Gulzar, Verywell Health, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of break down
Noun
  • After an idealistic youth and a subsequent nervous breakdown, our eldest Ramona, Ramona Jover, eventually finds strength in resignation to what a woman born in the 1800s can ever do or be.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Embodied by Maradona, successive Argentinean national teams played with flair and toughness and an element of chaos, often on the edge of nervous breakdown.
    — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 16 July 2026
Definition of nervous breakdown

Browse Nearby Words

melt (away)
melt down
meltdown
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Cite this Entry

“Melt down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/melt%20down. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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