collapse
When a building or other structure suddenly falls down because it is too weak or is damaged.
(of a building or other structure) to fall down or inward suddenly because it is weak or damaged or because its support fails.
When a person suddenly falls down or cannot stand because they are very sick, very weak, or very tired.
(of a person) to suddenly fall down or become unable to stand or function because of illness, weakness, or exhaustion.
When a business, plan, system, or government suddenly fails and cannot continue.
(of a system, organization, or process) to fail completely and stop working or existing, often suddenly.
When a big thing, like a building, system, or company, suddenly falls down or fails and stops working.
A sudden falling down or complete failure of something large or important, such as a building, system, or organization.
To make something smaller by folding or pushing its parts together.
To fold or push something in on itself so that it becomes smaller or takes up less space.
When prices, numbers, or values suddenly become much lower.
(of prices, values, or levels) to fall suddenly and by a large amount.
A sudden time when someone becomes very weak or falls down because of illness, stress, or tiredness.
A sudden serious loss of physical strength or health, often when someone becomes unable to stand or loses consciousness.
- Base: collapse
- Plural: collapse, collapses
- Base: collapse
- 3rd Person Singular: collapses
- Present Participle: collapsing
- Past: collapsed
be close to collapse
1almost failing or breaking down
To be in a very weak state so that you may fail or break down soon.
- After weeks of working late, she was close to collapse from exhaustion.
- The company is close to collapse unless it finds new investors.
bring to the brink of collapse
1push something close to failing
To cause a system, organization, or person to become so weak that it almost fails completely.
- The long strike brought the company to the brink of collapse.
- Years of war have brought the country to the brink of collapse.
collapse in
1fall inward suddenly
To fall inward or down suddenly, often because something cannot hold its weight.
- Part of the ceiling collapsed in during the storm.
- The tunnel collapsed in just minutes after the explosion.
collapse into
1fall or change suddenly into
To suddenly fall into a different physical position, or to suddenly become a different, usually worse or simpler, state.
- She finished the race and collapsed into a chair, unable to speak.
- The discussion quickly collapsed into an angry argument about politics.
collapse under the weight of
1fail because burden is too great
To fail or break because there is too much weight or too many problems to carry or handle.
- The old bridge finally collapsed under the weight of the heavy trucks.
- Many small businesses collapsed under the weight of rising costs and new regulations.
near collapse
1in a condition almost failing
In a very weak or bad condition, so that failure may happen soon.
- Emergency services say the health system is near collapse.
- By the end of the climb, he was near collapse from lack of water.
on the brink of collapse
1very close to complete failure
In a situation where something is almost failing completely and may collapse very soon.
- The hospital system is on the brink of collapse after years of underfunding.
- Several banks were on the brink of collapse during the crisis.