collapse
Use Collapse in a sentence
verb (used without object)
1.
to fall or cave in; crumble suddenly: The roof collapsed and buried the crowd.
2.
to be made so that sections or parts can be folded up, as for convenient storage: This bridge table collapses.
4.
to fall unconscious or as if unconscious or physically depleted, as from a stroke, heart attack, disease, or exhaustion.
5.
Pathology.
a.
to sink into extreme weakness.
b.
(of lungs) to come into an airless state.
verb (used with object)
6.
to cause to collapse: He collapsed the table easily.
00:10
Collapse
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is absquatulate. Does it mean:
| to flee; abscond: |
| to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly. |
noun
7.
a falling in or together: Three miners were trapped by the collapse of the tunnel roof.
8.
a sudden, complete failure; breakdown: The bribery scandal brought about the complete collapse of his industrial empire.
Origin:
1725–35; < Latin collāpsus (past participle of collābī to fall, fall in ruins), equivalent to col- col-1 + lāp-, variant stem of lābī to fall + -sus, variant of -tus past participle ending
1725–35; < Latin collāpsus (past participle of collābī to fall, fall in ruins), equivalent to col- col-1 + lāp-, variant stem of lābī to fall + -sus, variant of -tus past participle ending
Related forms
pre·col·lapse, verb, pre·col·lapsed, pre·col·laps·ing.
un·col·lapsed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To collapse
Collins
World English Dictionary
collapse (kəˈlæps) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | (intr) to fall down or cave in suddenly: the whole building collapsed |
| 2. | (intr) to fail completely: his story collapsed on investigation |
| 3. | (intr) to break down or fall down from lack of strength |
| 4. | to fold (furniture, etc) compactly or (of furniture, etc) to be designed to fold compactly |
| —n | |
| 5. | the act or instance of suddenly falling down, caving in, or crumbling |
| 6. | a sudden failure or breakdown |
| [C18: from Latin collāpsus, from collābī to fall in ruins, from lābī to fall] | |
| col'lapsible | |
| —adj | |
| col'lapsable | |
| —adj | |
| collapsi'bility | |
| —n | |
| collapsability | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
collapse
1732, from L. collapsus, pp. of collabi "fall together," from com- "together" + labi "to fall, slip." The pp. collapsed is attested from 1609, from L. collapsus, and this seems to have suggested the verb.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
collapse col·lapse (kə-lāps')
v. col·lapsed, col·laps·ing, col·laps·es
To break down suddenly in strength or health and thereby fall into a condition of extreme prostration.
To fall together or inward suddenly.
A condition of extreme prostration.
A falling together of the walls of a structure.
The failure of a physical system.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
It had begun to fall, and where a thicket of brambles obscured the collapse, the cows found a place to cross.
Communism's collapse has called forth old animosities and new dangers.
For related reasons, they also seem prone to internal violence and political collapse, a phenomenon known as state failure.
Maternal collapse in pregnancy and the puerperium.
Matching Quote
Nearby Words
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
