I. verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a business collapses/fails (= stops operating )
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35% of small businesses fail in the first year of operation.
a coalition collapses/breaks up
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Austria's ruling government coalition collapsed.
a regime collapses/falls (= loses power )
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Authoritarian regimes tend to collapse in times of economic hardship.
a state of collapse (= the state of being very ill or weak )
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The economy was in a state of collapse.
a system collapses (= fails completely )
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The European Exchange Rate system collapsed in the 1970s.
an empire collapses (= fails and ends suddenly )
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When the business empire collapsed, thousands of employees lost their jobs.
an empire falls/collapses (= loses power suddenly )
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In A.D.476, the western part of the Empire collapsed.
collapse in/into a chair (= sit down suddenly because you are very tired or upset )
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Eileen collapsed into a chair and burst out crying.
collapse/dissolve into giggles (= start laughing a lot )
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Victor tickled the little boy, who dissolved into giggles.
crack/collapse/buckle etc under the strain (= become unable to continue normally because of the strain )
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They are worried that the court system might collapse under the strain.
talks break down/collapse (= stop because of disagreement )
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Talks broke down today between the Russian and Japanese delegations.
the breakdown/collapse of talks
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The collapse of the talks sent shock waves round the world.
the collapse of an empire
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He left the country after the collapse of his construction empire.
the fall/collapse of an empire (= the sudden end of an empire )
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After the battle of Waterloo, the collapse of Napoleon's empire was inevitable.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
suddenly
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Profits had been falling for some years; investment collapsed suddenly in summer 1974.
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In any game of brinkmanship, it is possible that one side will collapse suddenly .
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When it has exhausted its reserves, it collapses suddenly .
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The reticence which had surrounded the subject for so long had suddenly collapsed on all sides.
■ NOUN
bed
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After my first spell of night duty I collapsed into bed and slept for nineteen hours.
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They collapsed into bed , holding on tightly.
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I only just managed to get back to our house before collapsing into bed .
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I wanted to collapse on the bed and scream.
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Zach collapsed on the bed and grinned sheepishly at them.
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At two o'clock I collapsed into my hotel bed .
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We collapse together on to the bed , breathing in time.
bridge
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Philippa's fear was exaggerated, as if a bridge had started to collapse under her.
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He told the driver to stop as the bridge was going to collapse .
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It had been night and for a long time no one knew that the bridge had collapsed .
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Two workmen were killed when a maintenance gantry fixed to the bridge collapsed two years ago.
chair
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Jan raised her hand to Darren, and he collapsed in the chair with a pout like Marilyn Monroe.
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I was last, and collapsed into my chair .
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Charles didn't respond and after a frozen pause, she collapsed into a chair and burst out crying.
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He collapsed into a chair and began to cry ... it was ages before he could say anything.
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I swayed across to it, was admitted by an elderly lady and collapsed in a chair .
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In the make-up room she collapsed into a chair , dropping her head into her hands and groaning heavily.
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Back in the study Edward Crumwallis collapsed into the chair usually reserved for boys whom he was hauling over the coals.
company
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Several high-profile companies collapsed , including Qunitext, a television and leisure resort company headed by Christopher Skase.
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That comparison is made even more potent given that the large company tends to collapse the distinction between private and public power.
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But the investment company collapsed , and now Mr Woodward and his wife owe sixty thousand pounds and may loose their house.
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I certainly did not want existing company schemes to collapse and saw no reason why this should happen.
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It seemed that every day the papers carried more reports of companies collapsing bringing inevitable job losses and their knock-on effects.
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The surprise payment was hailed as a triumph by the receivers of the Belfast car company which collapsed ten years ago.
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Internet access company Breath.com has collapsed with debts of $ 75m.
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Contrary to the industry's predictions, existing company schemes have not collapsed .
debt
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Stock exchanges and property prices collapsed , so the debts became overwhelming.
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Internet access company Breath.com has collapsed with debts of $ 75m.
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The group collapsed with debts of over £80m.
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Just down the road at Shalford, electrical contractor Schupke collapsed with debts of £100,000 and the loss of 21 jobs.
economy
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Officials take heart that the economy has not collapsed since the withdrawal of Soviet aid.
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Under such circumstances, the economy would collapse .
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If Britain's economy were to collapse at some future point, there would be mass emigration once more.
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Upon reflection, we might wonder why such an economy does not collapse in complete chaos.
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Since it has never been allowed to develop any outlets, what is left of the economy would collapse .
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Deny people the freedom to be what they want and to do what they want, and an economy will collapse .
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The economy had collapsed: according to the World Bank, half the population earned less than $ 220 a year.
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Since 1989 the emission of pollutants has in fact fallen, but only because the economy has collapsed .
government
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Tax reforms propounded by Zolotas's all-party Cabinet installed after the November election were dropped when this government collapsed in February 1990.
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And, within less than one year, this right-coalition government also collapsed .
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His government collapsed , and he has spent six years fighting-and winning-court battles, often on technicalities.
ground
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They collapsed together on the ground .
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Four blocks from home, shots rang out and their crumpled bodies collapsed to the ground .
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He collapses to the ground , clutching at his chest as his back arches.
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When exposed to direct light the leaves collapse and touch the ground and the plant dies.
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I flipped from fury straight into hilarity and collapsed on the ground beside him, rolling around in helpless laughter too.
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While Guy stepped off, hardly out of breath, his competitor collapsed on the ground in exhaustion.
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The musical interlude went on for ten minutes and finished with the mad figures collapsing on the ground .
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They collapsed gasping to the ground .
heap
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The foreigner stumbled on a few steps, his brains leaking out around his earphones, and collapsed in a heap .
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Sure enough, the Mean Machine runs the same play again and Budanski collapses in a heap , not breathing.
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There he collapsed in an exhausted heap , all strength drained from his limbs.
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Who knew when she might collapse in a heap of baubles and bangles?
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The parliament building had burned, its roof had collapsed and a large heap of concrete lay around its doors.
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Only one or two skeletons, in their finery, have collapsed into a mouldering heap on the tiled floor.
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Graham never saw what hit him, and collapsed in a heap on the floor.
market
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But the market has largely collapsed .
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Critics also worry about what would happen if the markets collapsed .
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Stock markets collapsed , hedge funds teetered on the brink.
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When the housing market collapsed , it appears that this property was affected because it became the subject of a forced sale.
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With Chernobyl the foreign market collapsed overnight.
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Since then the luxury car market has collapsed and the speculators want out.
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When the rules changed, the junk market collapsed .
price
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Stock exchanges and property prices collapsed , so the debts became overwhelming.
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At $ 3, 300, the price might also collapse the average Kmart shopper.
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But when that new equity fell through, all prices collapsed to around 20%.
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When the tin price collapsed , the miners formulated a plan to keep the mines open under their control with reduced costs.
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Under the impact of soaring oil prices living standards collapsed in a welter of rationing and corruption.
strain
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If it were otherwise the court system would simply collapse under the strain .
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His knees were wobbling as if they might collapse under the strain of holding his body upright.
system
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Then, the immune system begins to collapse .
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Communism forgot that basic truth and the system collapsed .
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Before a system collapses , however, it often displays signs that something is amiss.
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Take away coffee, and the entire system collapses .
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Within the former Soviet Union, the central planning system collapsed .
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What if a liberal contract-based system collapses ?
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Such will be the misery caused that in the end the system will collapse .
wall
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There is no danger of the walls collapsing under the load of these roofs.
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Eventually the water weakens the structure, and the walls and floors collapse .
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This happened with fatal consequences in 1953 when the Lee Wick wall collapsed sending water shooting over the marshes to Jaywick.
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One after another the bamboos broke, or their walls collapsed inward, and they had to be thrown away.
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Another chunk of wall collapsed , sending up a billowing cloud of dust.
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The pressure of the expanding beans forced the western outer wall to collapse .
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The people working in the bakery escaped alive only because its wall collapsed outward into the alleyway.
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Now, seven years after the wall collapsed , Berlin is creating an urban showcase for the 21st century.
weight
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The wooden hoop supporting the foliage had almost collapsed beneath its weight .
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That excuse collapses under the weight of its own zits.
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At least 343 people were killed, many of them by buildings collapsing under the weight of rain-soaked ash and mud.
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By the 57605 these institutions could safely be abolished, for they had essentially collapsed of their own weight .
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It ultimately collapses beneath the weight of its deception.
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My daddy's front porch almost collapsed from the weight of the scouts.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a near disaster/collapse etc
fall/collapse etc in a heap
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Ace, Defries and Bernice fell in a heap .
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Graham never saw what hit him, and collapsed in a heap on the floor.
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Sure enough, the Mean Machine runs the same play again and Budanski collapses in a heap , not breathing.
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The foreigner stumbled on a few steps, his brains leaking out around his earphones, and collapsed in a heap .
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The gallant commander and his horse fell in a heap ... the horse dead, the rider unhurt.
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The lion fell in a heap , and she got a steel knee on top of it.
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Who knew when she might collapse in a heap of baubles and bangles?
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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After half a dozen glasses of whisky he collapsed and could not be revived.
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Cohen was hospitalized after he collapsed on the floor and briefly lost consciousness.
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Come quickly, one of the passengers has collapsed.
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Former Mayor Ed Koch collapsed this morning at a health club in midtown Manhattan.
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Milligan collapsed into a chair, sighing deeply.
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Minutes later the second tower collapsed.
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One of the horses collapsed from exhaustion after the race.
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Our tent collapsed in the middle of the night.
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Part of the floor collapsed as a result of water damage.
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She finally took a break and collapsed in a chair.
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The building was badly damaged in the explosion, and rescue workers are worried that it may collapse .
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The U.S. auto industry nearly collapsed due to increased foreign competition.
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When folded in this way, the map collapses to pocket size.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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A battle between the traders and the corporate financiers caused the firm to collapse in early 1984.
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But his move to Old Trafford collapsed when the club medical revealed a knee problem.
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His courage never faltered, but his health collapsed.
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Please try not to upset or destroy this finely balanced mechanism or the building blocks will collapse like a row of dominoes.
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The crest of his life collapsed with the Hotsy shooting.
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The external guarantees that formerly enabled the Vaudois to survive had largely collapsed.
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We got up and ran about 50 yards, and I collapsed.
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When the suit collapsed Aitken was charged with perjury, for which he served a seven-month jail term.
II. noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
complete
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It was the ordinary police who prevented a complete collapse of law and order in the loyalist urban districts of Belfast.
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Death occurs when a quickened beat pushes the heart muscle to complete collapse .
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Edward's intervention had at least saved Montfort's cause from complete collapse .
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Food shortages would probably galvanise public anger into action, as would a complete collapse of the economy.
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Even if there is a complete collapse in the talks, it is unlikely to lead to general hostilities.
economic
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The forest is new: the ultimate victor in the conflicts, economic collapse and depopulation of the late nineteenth century.
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In the United States in the 1930s, a financial collapse led to an economic collapse.
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Mr Karimov knows that he will stand or fall on his ability to stave off economic collapse .
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We moved ahead rapidly when the economic collapse of the Depression strained the capacities of families and communities to the breaking point.
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Unemployment and economic collapse have changed our views.
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Futures commissions are often created by communities that have experienced some form of trauma, such as economic collapse .
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Diehard optimists, like Mr Pynzenyk, say that hyperinflation and economic collapse will eventually force the country to its senses.
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The most extreme pessimists foretell a future of demographically driven privation, environmental overshoot, and economic collapse .
final
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The reported death of Polonius causes Dycarbas's final collapse , and brings Terentia to the verge of suicide.
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From the shambles of the aldermanic elections and the final collapse of the Kelly-Nash leadership, Daley walked out even stronger.
financial
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And an extended payments schedule might well recover the debt more surely than strict enforcement - which might instead precipitate financial collapse .
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In the United States in the 1930s, a financial collapse led to an economic collapse.
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Mr Pin says that the government is blaming him for the entire financial collapse .
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None is big enough or bold enough to offset the negative effects of the financial collapse .
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But this success was tempered by the fact that Colebrooke's period in office coincided with the Company's financial collapse .
gravitational
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Then war intervened, Oppenheimer became involved in the atom bomb project, and he lost interest in gravitational collapse .
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It showed that gravitational collapse was not as much of a dead end as it had appeared to be.
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In 1965 I read about Penrose's theorem that any body undergoing gravitational collapse must eventually form a singularity.
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Let me go back to my earlier discussion of gravitational collapse .
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However, Chandrasekhar showed that for a sufficiently massive star the gravitational collapse continues until the star shrinks to a point.
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The no-hair theorem implies that a large amount of information is lost in a gravitational collapse .
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It modifies the scenario of gravitational collapse in the following way.
imminent
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Experts say this whole section of the ancient Abbey was in imminent danger of collapse .
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Repeated scientific warnings about the imminent collapse of cod stocks were ignored and the vast shoals vanished.
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He has no reason to fear the imminent collapse either of his administration or his country.
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The tree, thought to be more than 2,000 years old, was in imminent danger of collapse .
near
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Of the two, he was faring worse, panting, gasping, even appearing to be near collapse .
subsequent
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Yet his subsequent collapse from hero to villain has been as sudden as a Patriot missile strike.
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At some later date, a slight glacial retreat would weaken the dam wall and its subsequent collapse would prove catastrophic.
sudden
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The army's sudden collapse has been attributed to poor leadership, exhaustion and poor morale.
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A sudden collapse could cause a run on mutual funds, which could in turn threaten the financial system.
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Bollards are prone to sudden collapse , and the ropes often jam in the groove behind the capstan during retrieval.
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The sudden collapse of Communism raised the power of global capitalism to new heights.
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After Allitt moved out of the Jobsons' home, his dizzy spells, craving for chocolate and sudden collapses had stopped.
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It meant any sudden collapse and loss of awareness.
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It was a sudden , painless collapse and I had no chance to do anything.
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That had led to his sudden and unexpected collapse , the heart giving out.
total
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Events of the past week have shown it is not likely to be among the major companies that total collapses will occur.
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But the total collapse or disappearance of one was never seen as an appropriate goal of foreign policy.
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I am 46, going grey and on the point of total collapse .
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The Rassemblement had been premised on a total governmental collapse .
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But the gravest threat to health is posed by the total collapse of the economy, and the ensuing chronic poverty.
■ NOUN
market
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Solicitors' firms are caught out by the housing market collapse .
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Barring market collapse , they should retain their premium.
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Well over £2 billion has been invested in such assets since the stock market collapse in October 1987.
■ VERB
cause
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What caused its collapse was Craig's conversion to something which could be presented to loyalists as power-sharing.
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They did so again amid the turmoil caused by the collapse of Soviet power in 1991.
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Bottoms' version of the crisis of legitimacy is caused by the collapse of the rehabilitative ideal.
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Unemployment caused by the collapse of coal and steel will not be solved by a garden festival.
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The reported death of Polonius causes Dycarbas's final collapse , and brings Terentia to the verge of suicide.
lead
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These anxieties were shortly to lead to his mental collapse .
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In the United States in the 1930s, a financial collapse led to an economic collapse.
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Worsening expectations had not yet led to a collapse in investment, however.
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With construction of the dam, the loss of nutrient rich sediment led to the collapse of sardine fishing in the delta.
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The collapse of the Soviet Union led to the collapse of most local industries.
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Details are emerging of the final stages of the talks which led to the collapse of the bid on Tuesday night.
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The scandal led to a collapse in popularity and bitter internal quarrels on how to proceed.
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The stability of the wall is obviously affected, and if left untreated may lead to eventual collapse .
prevent
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It was the ordinary police who prevented a complete collapse of law and order in the loyalist urban districts of Belfast.
suffer
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The doctor had suffered a temporary mental collapse and subsequent bouts of violent behaviour.
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In 1966, while undergoing a Caesarean section, she had suffered a collapse under the anaesthetic.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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After Stephen's sudden collapse during the meeting, he was rushed to the hospital.
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Buildings must be strengthened to prevent collapse from an earthquake.
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He was sued for his role in the collapse of Southwest Savings and Loan.
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Roy is recovering from last week's collapse .
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the collapse of the stock market in 1987
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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Devoted to public order and financial stability, he presided over and accelerated the collapse of both.
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For most of them the railway symbolized dispossession and in some cases the collapse of their traditional economies.
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Gravitational collapse releases energy; and collapse to a single, dimensionless point releases an infinite amount of it.
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None is big enough or bold enough to offset the negative effects of the financial collapse .
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The collapse of Spinward has implications for the whole of the human-occupied galaxy.
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The second-half collapse was subtle at first but sudden when it finally happened.
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This is exactly the sort of collapse that keyed their six straight losses in the last two months of last season.