collapse
verb · noun
Simple meaning
Break down, literally or metaphorically.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kuhlapsSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
kəˈlæps
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Break down, literally or metaphorically
intransitive
To break apart and fall down suddenly; to cave in.
intransitive
To cease to function due to a sudden breakdown; to fail suddenly and completely.
intransitive
To pass out and fall to the floor or ground, as from exhaustion or other illness; to faint.
Cause to burst
Fold or close up
noun
The act of collapsing.
An abrupt failure of function or complete physical exhaustion
Constant function, one-valued function (in automata theory) (in particular application causing a reset).
The act of throwing yourself down
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Break down, literally or metaphorically
Used this way, collapse is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use collapse
- “The roof is in danger of collapse.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Capable of collapsing or being collapsed.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The implosion of a star resulting from its own gravity.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.