Meltdown
/ˈmɛltdaʊn/
Definitions
2 meaningsA sudden and catastrophic failure, often involving a loss of control, such as a nuclear meltdown or an emotional outburst.
/ˈmɛltdaʊn/
A catastrophic failure or collapse, often emotional or in a system.
The engine's overheating led to a potential meltdown.
💡 Simply: Imagine your favorite video game suddenly doesn't work, and you get so frustrated you yell and stomp your feet! A meltdown is when things fall apart suddenly, and people lose control.
👶 For kids: When something breaks or a person is super sad or mad and can't control their feelings.
More Examples
She had a complete emotional meltdown after the argument.
The financial system was close to a meltdown during the crisis.
How It's Used
"The nuclear reactor suffered a meltdown due to overheating."
"The child had a complete meltdown when they couldn't have the toy."
"The stock market experienced a market meltdown in 2008."
To experience a catastrophic failure or complete loss of control.
/ˈmɛltdaʊn/
To undergo a catastrophic failure or collapse.
The aging infrastructure might meltdown during extreme weather.
💡 Simply: Imagine an ice cream left outside on a hot day – it starts to fall apart and melt. If you 'meltdown' you're losing control, and things are getting messy.
👶 For kids: To be so angry or sad that you can't control yourself.
More Examples
If she doesn't get enough sleep, she'll likely meltdown.
How It's Used
"He would sometimes meltdown when he was overstimulated."
"If the system is overused, it might meltdown."
Idioms & expressions
have a meltdown
To experience a sudden, intense emotional reaction, often involving crying, yelling, or loss of control.
"The toddler had a meltdown in the grocery store when he couldn't get a candy bar."
From "melt" + "down". Initially used in metallurgy to describe the melting of metals, its figurative use broadened to encompass various failures and crises in the 20th century.
Initially confined to metallurgy, the term gained wider usage after the Three Mile Island accident in 1979, solidifying its association with catastrophic failure.
Memory tip
Imagine a frozen ice cream cone suddenly melting down – a complete collapse.
Word Origin
"To become liquid or soften by heat (melt) + (down) indicating collapse or failure."