as in to crack
to yield to mental or emotional stress
rather than melt down, the team strengthened their resolve and ended up winning the game
Synonyms & Similar Words
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1
as in tailspin
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
2
as in collapse
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of melt down
Letters To The Editor, Hartford Courant, 23 Mar. 2026
Maybe it can be melted down to create something new and uplifting.
—Arts Editor, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2026
Lamond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 29 Mar. 2026
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, is tightening rules for token issuers and providers of liquidity on the platform following criticism of digital-asset market practices during October’s market meltdown.
—Muyao Shen, Bloomberg, 25 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for melt down
Verb
The nature of the jobs changed, but employment in the sector did not melt down.
—Letters To The Editor, Hartford Courant, 23 Mar. 2026
Maybe it can be melted down to create something new and uplifting.
—Arts Editor, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2026
Noun
And then came the eighth-inning meltdown.
—Lamond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 29 Mar. 2026
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, is tightening rules for token issuers and providers of liquidity on the platform following criticism of digital-asset market practices during October’s market meltdown.
—Muyao Shen, Bloomberg, 25 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for melt down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for melt down
Verb
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Press slices of sandwich bread into muffin tins and crack a whole egg into each.—
Victoria Spencer,
Martha Stewart,
3 Apr. 2026
-
The numbers were burners, created only a day before the robbery, but logs of text messages and phone calls cracked open other leads and helped signal to police that the cases were related, according to documents reviewed by the Chronicle.—
Megan Cassidy,
San Francisco Chronicle,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
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In the film, Zendaya's Emma reveals her deepest, darkest secret to her fiancé, which sends their relationship and upcoming wedding into a tailspin.—
Mike Miller,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Apr. 2026
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If Miami continues its late season tailspin and finishes with a worse record than the Western Conference teams that lose in the play-in, the Heat could rise to the 11th lottery seed (unlikely) or 12th seed.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Cenotes are freshwater sinkhole caves formed from the collapse of limestone bedrock.—
Ryan Brennan
April 4,
Miami Herald,
4 Apr. 2026
-
While the officiating certainly didn’t help the Huskies, their Final Four collapse went far beyond the way the game was called.—
Emily Adams,
Hartford Courant,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
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This time, Carr’s freak-out was an attempt to stretch the FCC’s equal-time rules to apply to talk shows — both late night and daytime.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
23 Jan. 2026
-
For now, though, Chang is in her bubble up north and witnessing most of the freak-outs remotely and not in person.—
Jessica Radloff,
Glamour,
14 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Taken to an extreme, an ever-evolving idea of retirement could outlive drastic institutional change, perhaps enduring longer than the institutions of American democracy or beyond climate disaster.—
Trevor Jackson,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
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Steve DeJong will retire from the Homewood Fire Department after more than two decades to accept a position at MABAS Illinois, the statewide mutual aid and disaster response coordinator.—
Evy Lewis,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
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When their news anchor (Peter Finch) has a nervous breakdown on the air, suddenly their ratings turn around, bringing on a moral morass only some of them are prepared to face.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Mar. 2026
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Mostly because Kiesling’s voice is delightful, and this chronicle of Daphne—a young mother-intellectual on the verge of a nervous breakdown—is open-hearted and unsparing about the work that goes into balancing infant care with day job.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Some victims were physically assaulted, including one person who was choked to the point of nearly losing consciousness, according to court documents.—
Christopher Harris,
CBS News,
3 Apr. 2026
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Iran controls the Straits of Hormuz, trade — especially in vital oil — is choked, and the price of gas at the pump already exceeds $4 a gallon.—
Rob Crilly,
The Washington Examiner,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Clicking into the title will give you even more information, including a blurb about what parents need to know, a breakdown of potential concerns and positive qualities about the book, and reviews from kids.—
Cody Godwin,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
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Microplastics are tiny and sometimes invisible shreds of plastic that can be produced by the breakdown of plastic, the shedding of clothing fibers, manufacturing processes, and more.—
Lauren J. Young,
Scientific American,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Melt down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/melt%20down. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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