collapse - Definition | Dictionary definition of collapse

Definition of collapse

break down, literally or metaphorically

"The wall collapsed"

"The business collapsed"

"The roof collapsed"

Synonyms:: break, cave in, fall in, founder, give, give way; abandon, give up
stop maintaining or insisting on; of ideas or claims; burst
cause to burst

Types:: show 5 types...; hide 5 types...; go off, implode
burst inward; buckle, crumple
fold or collapse; flop
fall loosely; break
curl over and fall apart in surf or foam, of waves; sink, slide down, slump
fall or sink heavily

Type of:: change
undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature

collapse due to fatigue, an illness, or a sudden attack

Types:: drop like flies
rapidly collapse, die, or drop out in large numbers; fall over, go over
fall forward and down

fold or close up

"collapse the music stand"

Types:: deflate
collapse by releasing contained air or gas; concertina
collapse like a concertina

Type of:: fold, fold up, turn up
bend or lay so that one part covers the other

fall apart

cause to burst

Synonyms:: burst; break, cave in, fall in, founder, give, give way
break down, literally or metaphorically

suffer a nervous breakdown

lose significance, effectiveness, or value

"The stock market collapsed"

an abrupt failure of function or complete physical exhaustion

Types:: show 12 types...; hide 12 types...; breakdown, crack-up
a mental or physical breakdown; nervous breakdown
a severe or incapacitating emotional disorder; shock
(pathology) bodily collapse or near collapse caused by inadequate oxygen delivery to the cells; characterized by reduced cardiac output and rapid heartbeat and circulatory insufficiency and pallor; cardiogenic shock
shock caused by cardiac arrest; hypovolemic shock
shock caused by severe blood or fluid loss; obstructive shock
shock caused by obstruction of blood flow; distributive shock
shock caused by poor distribution of the blood flow; insulin reaction, insulin shock
hypoglycemia produced by excessive insulin in the system causing coma; heat hyperpyrexia, heatstroke
collapse caused by exposure to excessive heat; heat exhaustion, heat prostration
a condition marked by dizziness and nausea and weakness caused by depletion of body fluids and electrolytes; insolation, siriasis, sunstroke, thermic fever
sudden prostration due to exposure to the sun or excessive heat; algidity
prostration characterized by cold and clammy skin and low blood pressure

Type of:: illness, malady, sickness, unwellness
impairment of normal physiological function affecting part or all of an organism

a natural event caused by something suddenly falling down or caving in

"the roof is in danger of collapse"

"the collapse of the old star under its own gravity"

Types:: show 4 types...; hide 4 types...; cave in, subsidence
the sudden collapse of something into a hollow beneath it; debacle, fiasco
a sudden and violent collapse; implosion
a sudden inward collapse; gravitational collapse
the implosion of a star resulting from its own gravity; the result is a smaller and denser celestial object