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
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Dissimilar Words
2
as in collapse
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of meltdown
Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 8 June 2025
Cameras were about to be shut down for the night when producers decided to throw the Trump-Musk meltdown at presenter Richard Ayoade and teams led by Ian Hislop and Paul Merton.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 6 June 2025
Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 24 June 2025
The tests demonstrate that, at least in theory, this synthetic skin could be melted down and molded to fit various parts of a robot’s body and still sense touch.
—Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 12 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for meltdown
Verb
Seven of the 17 losses can be attributed in some way to a bullpen meltdown, and the worst by far was the aforementioned loss to the Blue Jays on April 30.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 8 June 2025
Cameras were about to be shut down for the night when producers decided to throw the Trump-Musk meltdown at presenter Richard Ayoade and teams led by Ian Hislop and Paul Merton.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 6 June 2025
Noun
Damage to the power grid serving the reactor could also cause its core to melt down, leading to a release of high amounts of radiation that would necessitate evacuation or protective sheltering—measures that the IAEA said would have to be taken over distances of hundreds of miles.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 24 June 2025
The tests demonstrate that, at least in theory, this synthetic skin could be melted down and molded to fit various parts of a robot’s body and still sense touch.
—Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 12 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for meltdown
Recent Examples of Synonyms for meltdown
Verb
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The album first cracked the top 10 on the Billboard 200 on the chart dated Aug. 31, 1985, and first reached No. 1 on the chart dated March 8, 1986.—
Paul Grein,
Billboard,
25 June 2025
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Whoever cracks this first could use a first mover’s advantage to build a hard-to-beat flywheel of highly engaged, big-spending consumers that attracts partner brands and retailers that don’t want to miss out on a new growth channel.—
Jason Del Rey,
Fortune,
25 June 2025
Noun
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The Context Global markets went into a tailspin in April, when Trump first rolled out sweeping global tariffs targeting almost every major U.S. trading partner.—
Sonam Sheth,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 June 2025
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The weight of all this sent Samuele into a tailspin.—
Curtis Bunn,
NBC news,
19 June 2025
Noun
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Despite official reassurances, the currency markets are painting a different picture — one of accelerating collapse.—
Antonio Maria Delgado,
Miami Herald,
20 June 2025
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The new legislation was passed in the aftermath of the deadly collapse of the Champlain Towers South building in Surfside in June 2021 which killed 98 people.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 June 2025
Noun
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Oasis’s last tour, in 2008, was riven by fights, freak-outs, and sibling rivalry.—
Air Mail,
Air Mail,
7 June 2025
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What follows is a melee of pratfalls and freak-outs, a guffaw-worthy display by such a fine group of actors.—
Nick Caruso,
TVLine,
21 May 2025
Noun
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By ordering these strikes, Trump acted without congressional approval and in contradiction to his campaign promise to avoid the kind of disasters experienced in Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan.—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
22 June 2025
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One of the factors that exacerbated the Chernobyl disaster was a design flaw within the nuclear reactor that exploded, Bernstein said, adding that the design is no longer used.—
Julia Jacobo,
ABC News,
21 June 2025
Noun
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But the high demands of a relentless industry proved too much and in late December 1964, Wilson suffered a nervous breakdown and stopped touring, becoming a full-time studio artist for the better part of more than a decade after that.—
Christina Maxouris,
CNN Money,
11 June 2025
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This looser, more straightforward approach works for the smaller scale and scope of Bottle Rocket, which begins with Luke Wilson’s Anthony leaving a voluntary treatment facility in Arizona after suffering a nervous breakdown.—
Shannon Carlin,
Time,
30 May 2025
Noun
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Related article The ‘white-collar bloodbath’ is all part of the AI hype machine The sentiment echoes a similar but more dramatic statement by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who told CNN and Axios that AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs sometime in the next five years.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
18 June 2025
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Watch: Is artistic expression a bedrock of our Constitution? Obama and Steve Bannon agree: AI could cause white-collar job loss bloodbath.—
Rebecca Morin,
USA Today,
4 June 2025
Verb
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Officers then spoke to the second victim, who said Bonds slammed them to the floor and choked them as well.—
Michelle L. Quinn,
Chicago Tribune,
23 June 2025
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Its options are widely considered to include retaliation against U.S. forces in the region as well as choking a major global oil supply route, the Strait of Hormuz.—
Mandy Taheri,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Meltdown.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/meltdown. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
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