Meltdown means: 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. It is finance or tax vocabulary; usage is usually formal or news-related rather than peer slang. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour.
meltdown
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.
Seen in the wild
10 citations · last seen May 2026
Seen in the wild
BlueskyMay 2026
Pope Fires Back With Blistering Truth After Trump Meltdown https://is.gd/wizAcs [TheDailyBeast, archive link]
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BlueskyMay 2026
southbankcentre via IG: “Harry Styles is headlining Meltdown festival with the Jules Buckley Orchestra and this is how to get tickets to this one-night-only event. 🤞🪩
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BlueskyMay 2026
🩷Enter by 12pm, 15 May (online) or 6pm, 19 May (post). Open to UK/CI/loM residents, 18+. Max 3 entries per person. 950 pairs of tickets available.” #HarryStyles #MeltdownFestival Meltdown Festival ticket online priz…
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BlueskyMay 2026
Enter our online draw from £20 or enter for free by post to be in with a chance to win a pair of tickets for Harry Styles' headline Meltdown concert, a fundraiser supporting our work with young people!
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BlueskyMay 2026
remembering the weirdest ever Mastodon meltdown- an admin overheated so badly about users posting spoilers for the TERF wizard game he shut down the instance for good
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Definitions
#1·Apr 28, 2026
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.
Origin: From nuclear engineering 'meltdown' (reactor core failure due to overheating); metaphorically extended to any catastrophic collapse or emotional breakdown. Editorial expansion authored on Slangora.
For parents
Meltdown means: 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. It is finance or tax vocabulary; usage is usually formal or news-related rather than peer slang. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour.
For ESL learners
meltdown means: 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. Register: formal or technical, finance/tax English. Standard in its technical domain but rare in everyday talk; gloss with a plain synonym when writing for a general audience. A common learner mistake is using the word in a register it does not fit, or assuming a single global meaning; native speakers immediately notice when slang appears in formal contexts, so always check the surrounding register before producing it yourself.
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#2·Apr 27, 2026
(countable) An act or process of melting.
Cluster: general
Heard in the wild
“remembering the weirdest ever Mastodon meltdown- an admin overheated so badly about users posting spoilers for the TERF wizard game he shut down the instance for good”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Scenes from the MAGA Meltdown open.substack.com/pub/charlies...”
— Bluesky· May 2026“#3GoodThings 1. Talking through some Tough Foster Parent feelings without a meltdown or hard feelings 2. Frozen food I can deploy for lunch in a pinch 3. The continuing playoff a-hockey-lypse”
— Bluesky· May 2026“I was promised total technological meltdown!”
— Bluesky· May 2026“I'm listening to the audiobook for Project Hail Mary (I am not enjoying it) but hey man what the fuck do you mean you didn't put any social commentary into it Your obnoxious ass protagonist just had a climate crisis related meltdown”
— Bluesky· May 2026
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#3·Apr 27, 2026
(countable, rare) A mass of melted material.
Heard in the wild
“Pope Fires Back With Blistering Truth After Trump Meltdown https://is.gd/wizAcs [TheDailyBeast, archive link]”
— Bluesky· May 2026“southbankcentre via IG: “Harry Styles is headlining Meltdown festival with the Jules Buckley Orchestra and this is how to get tickets to this one-night-only event. 🤞🪩”
— Bluesky· May 2026“🩷Enter by 12pm, 15 May (online) or 6pm, 19 May (post). Open to UK/CI/loM residents, 18+. Max 3 entries per person. 950 pairs of tickets available.” #HarryStyles #MeltdownFestival Meltdown Festival ticket online prize draw: www.southbankcentre.co.uk/harry-styles...”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Enter our online draw from £20 or enter for free by post to be in with a chance to win a pair of tickets for Harry Styles' headline Meltdown concert, a fundraiser supporting our work with young people!”
— Bluesky· May 2026“#BBBCR4Today With the #Tory party facing meltdown, where does #KemiBadenoch go from here? #Reform or a career outside politics?”
— Bluesky· May 2026
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For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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🗺️About Regional & Other slang
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.
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Other words near "meltdown" (M)
mellow yellowMelodymelongenemelonheadmelon holemeltmeltithmeltyMelvinmember bankMember of Parliamentmember's bill
Browse all slang words starting with M.