COLLAPSE

I. verb (~d; collapsing) see: sleep Date: 1732 intransitive verb to fall or shrink together abruptly and completely ; fall into a jumbled or flattened mass through the force of external pressure , to break down completely ; disintegrate , to cave or fall in or give way , to suddenly lose force, significance, effectiveness, or worth , to break down in vital energy, stamina, or self-control through exhaustion or disease, to fold down into a more compact shape , transitive verb to cause to ~ , condense , collapsibility noun collapsible adjective II. noun Date: 1801 1. a breakdown in vital energy, strength, or stamina, a state of extreme prostration and physical depression (as from circulatory failure or great loss of body fluids), an airless state of all or part of a lung originating spontaneously or induced surgically, the act or action of collapsing , a sudden failure ; breakdown , ruin , a sudden loss of force, value, or effect