collapse
- collapse
- 1
verb
1 STRUCTURE (I) if a building, wall, piece of furniture etc collapses, it suddenly falls down because its structure is weak or because it has been hit with a sudden violent force: The roof is in danger of collapsing. | Uncle Ted's chair collapsed under his weight.
2 FAIL (I) if a system, idea, or organization collapses, it suddenly fails or becomes too weak to continue: The business finally collapsed because of rising debts.
3 ILLNESS (I) to suddenly fall down or become unconscious because you are ill: He collapsed with a heart attack while he was dancing.
4 SIT to suddenly sit down, especially because you are very tired: I was so exhausted when I got home, I just collapsed on the sofa..
5 MAKE STH SMALLER (I, T) if a piece of furniture or equipment collapses or you collapse it, you can fold it so that it becomes smaller: The legs on our card table collapse so we can store it in the closet.
6 MEDICAL (I) if a lung or a blood vessel collapses, it suddenly becomes flat, so that it no longer has any air or blood in it
2
noun
1 BUSINESS/SYSTEM/IDEA ETC (singular, uncountable) a sudden failure in the way something works, so that it cannot continue: The country's economic collapse led to political chaos.
2 BUILDING/STRUCTURE/FURNITURE ETC (U) the act of suddenly falling down because of a weakness in something's structure or because something has hit it violently: the collapse of an apartment building during the earthquake
3 ILLNESS (singular) a sudden illness that makes you fall down or become unconscious
4 MONEY/PRICES ETC (singular) a sudden decrease in the value of something: the collapse of the stock market in 1987
Longman dictionary of contemporary English.
2004.
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Look at other dictionaries:
Collapse! — Genres Puzzle Developers GameHouse Publishers GameHouse (RealNetworks) Platforms Windows, Mac OS X … Wikipedia
Collapse — Разрабо … Википедия
Collapse — Col*lapse , v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Collapsed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Collapsing}] [L. collapsus, p. p. of collabi to collapse; col + labi to fall, slide. See {Lapse}.] 1. To fall together suddenly, as the sides of a hollow vessel; to close by falling or … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Collapse — Pays d’origine France Genre musical Metal industriel Années d activité 1994 – Aujourd hui Labels … Wikipédia en Français
collapse — ● collapse nom masculin (anglais collapse, affaissement) Dommage susceptible de survenir au cours du séchage artificiel du bois, se traduisant par des affaissements et des déformations internes … Encyclopédie Universelle
collapse — [n] downfall, breakdown bankruptcy, basket case*, cataclysm, catastrophe, cave in, conk out*, crackup*, crash, debacle, destruction, disintegration, disorganization, disruption, exhaustion, failure, faint, flop, prostration, ruination, ruining,… … New thesaurus
collapse — [kə laps′] vi. collapsed, collapsing [< L collapsus, pp. of collabi < com , together + labi, to fall: see LAP1] 1. to fall down or fall to pieces, as when supports or sides fail to hold; cave in; shrink together suddenly 2. to break down… … English World dictionary
Collapse — Col*lapse , n. 1. A falling together suddenly, as of the sides of a hollow vessel. [1913 Webster] 2. A sudden and complete failure; an utter failure of any kind; a breakdown. [Colloq.] [1913 Webster] 3. (Med.) Extreme depression or sudden failing … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
collapse — index catastrophe, debacle, decline, defeat, destruction, deteriorate, detriment, disaster, disease … Law dictionary
collapse — (v.) 1732, from L. collapsus, pp. of collabi fall together, from com together (see COM (Cf. com )) + labi to fall, slip (see LAPSE (Cf. lapse)). The adj. collapsed is attested from c.1600, from L. collapsus, and perhaps this suggested a verb. R … Etymology dictionary
collapse — ► VERB 1) suddenly fall down or give way. 2) (of a person) fall down as a result of physical breakdown. 3) fail suddenly and completely. ► NOUN 1) an instance of a structure collapsing. 2) a sudden failure or breakdown. ORIGIN … English terms dictionary
