1
as in to tumble
to fall down or in as a result of physical pressure
the motel balcony collapsed under the weight of so many people
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to fail
to be unsuccessful
the legal case collapsed in the face of the opposition's evidence
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3
as in to compress
to reduce in size or volume by or as if by pressing parts or members together
the novel collapses events from four separate trips into one long odyssey
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1
as in exhaustion
a complete depletion of energy or strength
suffered a mental collapse under the strain of studying for his bar exam
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2
as in defeat
a falling short of one's goals
the complete collapse of the invasion set off a round of finger-pointing and recrimination
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of collapse
Michael Lane, The Mercury News, 4 Feb. 2025
His films delighted in collapsing the city’s past and its present together, in discovering cultural and architectural vestiges of an older Los Angeles tucked in among the city’s newer façades.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 4 Feb. 2025
Olesya Dmitracova and Chris Isidore, CNN, 5 Feb. 2025
There was one key difference from his past years, though: the collapse of his walk rate.
—Tim Britton, The Athletic, 5 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for collapse 
Verb
State regulators must step in quickly with targeted and effective reforms to prevent it from collapsing and making homeownership riskier, driving rents higher and halting new construction.
—Michael Lane, The Mercury News, 4 Feb. 2025
His films delighted in collapsing the city’s past and its present together, in discovering cultural and architectural vestiges of an older Los Angeles tucked in among the city’s newer façades.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 4 Feb. 2025
Noun
Nissan has struggled since the collapse of its alliance with Renault and faced severe financial problems that put it in desperate need of a larger merger partner.
—Olesya Dmitracova and Chris Isidore, CNN, 5 Feb. 2025
There was one key difference from his past years, though: the collapse of his walk rate.
—Tim Britton, The Athletic, 5 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for collapse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for collapse
Verb
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Tesla , whose Full Self-Driving has yet to get China’s approval, saw its shares tumble on Tuesday following the news of BYD’s driver-assist rollout.—
Evelyn Cheng,
CNBC,
16 Feb. 2025
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Corbiere slipped and then tumbled over the edge and down into a ravine.—
Khloe Quill,
Fox News,
15 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The effort to begin a partition with the Gaza Strip has failed colossally.—
Justin Gest,
Newsweek,
11 Feb. 2025
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At best, presidents picked up-and-coming party devotees like Elaine Chao, a shameless pro-boss hack, or Tom Perez, a nice guy for sure, who failed to deliver any significant gains for blue-collar America.—
John Samuelsen,
New York Daily News,
11 Feb. 2025
Verb
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In microgravity, the brain moves to the top of the skull and compresses an area responsible for absorbing cerebrospinal fluid, leading to a swelling of brain cavities and potentially to an increase in intracranial pressure.—
Dhruv Khullar,
The New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2025
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Because South Florida is built on layers of sand and porous limestone, the authors reasoned that these vibrations could have compressed or rearranged sand – much like shaking ground coffee in a tin creates more space.—
Denise Hruby,
Miami Herald,
14 Jan. 2025
Noun
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But what’s catching up to us now is exhaustion and low energy.—
Brian Davids,
The Hollywood Reporter,
7 Feb. 2025
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If the stress doesn't stop, your body eventually moves into the exhaustion stage.1 Stage 3: Exhaustion Stage In the exhaustion stage, stress can lead to burnout, depression, anxiety, extreme tiredness, and a lower ability to handle stress.—
Laura Schober,
Health,
23 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Saturday’s 68-63 loss at Colorado State was particularly agonizing because of the manner of defeat, leading 50-47 with 14 minutes left, then scoring only one basket (and going 1 of 8 from the line) over the next 11 minutes.—
Mark Zeigler,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Feb. 2025
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Their only Lombardi Trophy came in 2018 on the back of an extraordinary playoff upset run led by backup quarterback Nick Foles, culminating in his defeat of Tom Brady's New England Patriots.—
Faris Tanyos,
CBS News,
9 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The Eagles also went 18-3 and won the championship a year after dysfunction led to the team losing six of its final seven games, including a playoff defeat.—
Chadd Cripe,
Idaho Statesman,
11 Feb. 2025
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President Cal Bradford’s last day on — or rather, under — Earth is the focus of this week’s Paradise, an hour that also sees Xavier officially go rogue.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
11 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The Rangers don't have the best reputation for developing their prospects, but many of the young players that have flopped were homogenous assets that clogged up their organizational pipeline.—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
4 Feb. 2025
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The Right Stuff Year: 1983 Running time: 3 hours 13 minutes Director: Philip Kaufman Years before Bonfire of the Vanities flopped, Hollywood had a much better time adapting Tom Wolfe, turning his nonfiction book about the Mercury program into a clear-eyed piece of Americana.—
Kevin Lincoln,
Vulture,
20 Jan. 2025
Verb
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These are dunked in grapefruit ponzu or spicy kimchi dressing or simply squeezed with lemon.—
John Metcalfe,
The Mercury News,
14 Feb. 2025
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It’s further squeezed by competition from others in the space, including Etsy, Michael’s and Hobby Lobby, as well as big-box and online retailers such as Amazon and Walmart.—
Caroline Petrow-Cohen,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near collapse
Cite this Entry
“Collapse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/collapse. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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