Broadly used slang for a complete breakdown or loss of control — whether a person having an emotional collapse, a political or financial crisis spinning out of control, or an organisation collapsing. Derived from the nuclear engineering term for when a reactor core overheats and melts. The slang sense carries the same dramatic connotation of catastrophic failure.
He had a full meltdown in the meeting when the figures were revealed.
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(countable) An act or process of melting.
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(countable, rare) A mass of melted material.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
See all Regional & Other slang on Slangora.