melt down

faire fondre, refondre

Chauffer un objet, surtout en métal ou en verre, jusqu'à le rendre liquide, souvent pour fabriquer autre chose.

En anglais simple : To heat something, especially metal or glass, until it becomes liquid, often to make something new.

• They melted down the old gold.
• This factory melts down glass bottles for reuse.
• Can we melt these broken silver pieces down?

Comment l'utiliser : melt something down (They melted the old coins down to make new ones.); melt down something (The factory melts down scrap metal.)

Synonymes : melt, liquefy

Expressions courantes : melt down metal, melt down coins, melt down glass

craquer, s’effondrer

Perdre le contrôle de ses émotions ou s'effondrer complètement sous la pression.

En anglais simple : To lose control of your feelings, or fail completely under pressure.

• The child melted down after lunch.
• She nearly melted down under the pressure of the exams.
• The whole payment system melted down during the holiday rush.

Synonymes : break down, collapse

Expressions courantes : melt down emotionally, melt down completely

entrer en fusion

Devenir si chaud que les parties solides fondent et perdent leur forme, notamment dans un réacteur nucléaire.

En anglais simple : To become so hot that solid parts turn liquid and lose their shape, especially inside a nuclear reactor.

• The reactor core melted down.
• Without cooling, the fuel could melt down.
• Investigators explained why the damaged reactor had melted down.

Synonymes : melt

Expressions courantes : melt down completely, melt down suddenly