I. verb
1.
Synonyms: give 12, bend, break, cave, crumple, fold up, go, yield
Related Word: break up, disintegrate, shatter
Idioms: fall to pieces
2.
to lose energy, stamina, or control under stress
exhausted to the point of collapsing helplessly on the bed
Synonyms: break down, cave (in), drop, ||flake out, give out, peg out, succumb, wilt
Related Word: droop, fail, languish, weaken; exhaust, fag, flag, play out, tire, weary
Contrasted words: enliven, invigorate, stimulate
II. noun
1.
Synonyms: nervous breakdown , breakdown, crack-up, nervous prostration
2.
a sudden and grave failure
the collapse of an overextended market
Synonyms: breakdown, crack-up, crash, debacle, smash, smashup, wreck
Related Word: breakup, disorganization, disruption, undoing; cataclysm, catastrophe; destruction, ruination, ruining; failure