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meltdown

Meaning in simple English, pronunciation and examples

Pronunciation: US /ˈmeltdaʊn/

meltdown means: A period when someone feels so upset or overwhelmed that they cannot control their reactions.

noun

EMOTIONAL OUTBURSTB2

A period when someone feels so upset or overwhelmed that they cannot control their reactions.

  • He had a meltdown after school.
  • Too much noise can trigger a meltdown.
  • She was close to a meltdown after a week of constant pressure.

Similar words: outburst, tantrum

Common phrases: have a meltdown, emotional meltdown, complete meltdown

MAJOR CRISISC1

A serious breakdown in which a system or situation becomes very difficult to control.

  • The company faced a financial meltdown.
  • Markets fell sharply during the economic meltdown.
  • A computer failure caused a complete meltdown of the booking system.

Similar words: collapse, breakdown, crisis

Common phrases: financial meltdown, economic meltdown, political meltdown

NUCLEAR ACCIDENTC1

An accident in which nuclear fuel gets so hot that it melts and may release dangerous radiation.

  • The reactor suffered a meltdown.
  • Workers restored cooling to prevent a nuclear meltdown.
  • Radiation escaped after the core meltdown.

Common phrases: nuclear meltdown, reactor meltdown, core meltdown

MELTING PROCESSC2

The process of a solid becoming liquid.

  • The heat caused a rapid meltdown of the ice.
  • Water filled the valley during the spring meltdown.
  • Researchers measured the glacier’s meltdown over several weeks.

Similar words: melting, thaw

Opposites: freezing

Common phrases: spring meltdown, ice meltdown, rapid meltdown

Questions about meltdown

What does meltdown mean?

A period when someone feels so upset or overwhelmed that they cannot control their reactions.

What is meltdown in other languages?

Türkçe: sinir krizi · Español: crisis emocional · Français: crise de nerfs · Deutsch: Nervenzusammenbruch · Italiano: crisi di nervi · 日本語: 感情の爆発

How do you pronounce meltdown?

It is pronounced /ˈmeltdaʊn/.

How do you use meltdown in a sentence?

He had a meltdown after school. Too much noise can trigger a meltdown.

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