What does collapse mean?
Collapse means to fall down or give way suddenly, whether physically or figuratively. A building may collapse after an earthquake; a government may collapse amid scandal; an exhausted runner may collapse at the finish line. The word carries strong connotations of suddenness and completeness — something that collapses does not merely weaken but fails outright. As a noun, collapse refers to the event itself: the collapse of an empire, a financial collapse, or a nervous collapse in the medical sense. It appears frequently in journalism, economics, engineering, and medicine, making it a versatile and widely understood term across registers. The verb can be transitive in rare technical uses, but is overwhelmingly intransitive in everyday English.
To fall down or give way suddenly; to fail abruptly and completely.
"The negotiations collapsed after only two days."
A sudden failure, breakdown, or falling down; the state of having collapsed.
"The collapse of the Soviet Union reshaped global politics."
Regular plural; used when referring to multiple distinct instances of collapsing.
"There have been several collapses of major banks throughout history."
The word collapse literally means 'to slip together' — and it has been describing everything from crumbling buildings to failing economies since the early 1600s.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of collapse
Collapse derives from the Latin collapsus, past participle of collabi, formed from com- ('together') + labi ('to slip, fall'). It entered English in the early 17th century, initially in a general sense of slipping or falling together. It shares its Latin root labi with related words such as lapse, elapse, relapse, and prolapse, all carrying the core idea of slipping, gliding, or falling away.
How collapse is actually used
Used both literally (buildings, structures) and figuratively (economies, negotiations, health). The noun is common in medical contexts ('nervous collapse') and economics ('market collapse'). Register is neutral — suitable for formal and informal use alike.
Easily confused with collapse
Elapse means to pass by of time ('an hour elapsed'), while collapse means to fall down or fail suddenly.