collapse

Plural: collapses

Noun

• an abrupt failure of function or complete physical exhaustion
• 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"
• the act of throwing yourself down
• a sudden large decline of business or the prices of stocks (especially one that causes additional failures)
• The act of collapsing.
• Constant function, one-valued function (in automata theory) (in particular application causing a reset).
• Ellipsis of batting collapse.

Verb

Verb Forms: collapsed, collapsing, collapses

• To fall down or crumble suddenly; to fail completely.
• break down, literally or metaphorically
  • "The wall collapsed"
  • "The business collapsed"
  • "The roof collapsed"
• collapse due to fatigue, an illness, or a sudden attack
• fold or close up
  • "collapse the music stand"
• fall apart
• cause to burst
• suffer a nervous breakdown
• lose significance, effectiveness, or value
  • "The stock market collapsed"
• To break apart and fall down suddenly; to cave in.
• To cease to function due to a sudden breakdown; to fail suddenly and completely.
• To fold compactly.
• In a hierarchical list (such as a directory tree or table of contents), to hide the subentries of (an entry).
• To suffer a batting collapse.
• To cause something to collapse.
• To pass out and fall to the floor or ground, as from exhaustion or other illness; to faint.

Examples

• His carefully planned Words With Friends strategy threatened to COLLAPSE when his opponent blocked his best play.
• Hurry up and collapse the tent so we can get moving.
• Pyramid schemes tend to generate profits for a while and then collapse.
• She suffered a terrible collapse after slipping on the wet floor.
• The exhausted singer collapsed on stage and had to be taken to the hospital.

Synonyms

break, break down, break up, burst, cave in, crack, crack up, crash, crock up, crumble, crumple, fall in, flop, founder, give, give way, prostration, tumble

Antonyms

expand

Anagrams of collapse