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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Collapse \Col*lapse"\, verb (used without an object) [imp. & p. p. {Collapsed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Collapsing}] [L. collapsus, p. p. of collabi to collapse; col- + labi to fall, slide. See {Lapse}.]
1. To fall together suddenly, as the sides of a hollow vessel; to close by falling or shrinking together; to have the sides or parts of (a thing) fall in together, or be crushed in together; as, a flue in the boiler of a steam engine sometimes collapses.
A balloon collapses when the gas escapes from it. --Maunder.
2. To fail suddenly and completely, like something hollow when subject to too much pressure; to undergo a collapse; as, Maximilian's government collapsed soon after the French army left Mexico; many financial projects collapse after attaining some success and importance.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Collapse \Col*lapse"\, noun
1. A falling together suddenly, as of the sides of a hollow vessel.
2. A sudden and complete failure; an utter failure of any kind; a breakdown. [Colloq.]
3. (Med.) Extreme depression or sudden failing of all the vital powers, as the result of disease, injury, or nervous disturbance.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
collapse
noun
1: an abrupt failure of function or health
2: a mishap caused by something suddenly falling down or caving in
3: the act of throwing yourself down; "he landed on the bed with a great flop" [syn: {flop}]
4: a sudden large decline of business or the prices of stocks (especially one that causes additional failures) [syn: {crash}]
verb
1: break down, literally or metaphorically; "The wall collapsed"; "The business collapsed"; "The dam broke"; "The roof collapsed"; "The wall gave in"; "The roof finally gave under the weight of the ice" [syn: {fall in}, {cave in}, {give}, {give way}, {break}, {founder}]
2: collapse due to fatigue, an illness, or a sudden attack [syn: {break down}]
3: fold or close up; "fold up your umbrella"; "collapse the music stand"
4: fall apart; "the building crimbled after the explosion"; "Negociations broke down" [syn: {crumble}, {crumple}, {tumble}, {break down}]
5: cause to burst; "The ice broke the pipe" [syn: {burst}]
6: suffer a nervous breakdown [syn: {crack up}, {crack}, {crock up}, {break up}]
7: lose significance, effectiveness, or value; "The school system is collapsing"; "The stock market collapsed"
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
335 Moby Thesaurus words for "collapse": OD, Waterloo, amiable weakness, bankruptcy, be brought down, be felled, be found wanting, be ruined, be struck down, be traumatized, beating, become insolvent, bend, blow, bouncing check, break, break down, break out, break up, breakability, breakage, breakdown, breaking up, breakup, brittleness, burn out, bust, cascade, catabasis, cataclysm, cataract, catastrophe, catch, catch cold, cave, cave in, cave-in, changeableness, chute, circulatory collapse, collapse, come apart, come down, come down with, come short, come to naught, come to nothing, come unstuck, comedown, conk out, conquering, conquest, contract, crack, crack up, crack-up, crackup, crash, crippling, cropper, crumble, crumple, daintiness, damage, deathblow, debacle, deceleration, declension, declination, decline, decline and fall, decrescendo, defeat, deflate, deflation, defluxion, delicacy, descend, descending, descension, descent, destructibility, destruction, detriment, dilapidation, diminish, diminuendo, dip down, disablement, disappear, disappearance, disaster, disintegrate, disintegration, disorganization, disrepair, disruption, dissolution, dissolve, dive, down, downbend, downcome, downcurve, downfall, downflow, downgrade, downpour, downrush, downtrend, downturn, downward trend, draining, droop, drop, drop down, drop off, dropping, drubbing, dwindling, ebb, effeminacy, encroachment, erupt, evaporate, exhaust, exhaustedness, exhaustion, fade, fag, fail, failure, faint, fall, fall away, fall dead, fall down, fall flat, fall in, fall off, fall short, fall stillborn, fall through, fall to pieces, falling, fatigue, fever, fizzle out, flag, flimsiness, fold, fold up, founder, fragility, frailty, frangibility, gasp, get, get bogged down, get hung up, get mired, get tired, give out, give way, go, go bankrupt, go broke, go down, go downhill, go into receivership, go into shock, go soft, go to pieces, go to pot, go to ruin, go to smash, go under, go up, gravitate, gravitation, grow weary, harm, hiding, hit the skids, hobbling, human frailty, hurt, hurting, impairment, implode, implosion, incapacitation, inclination, indecisiveness, infirmity of will, infringement, inherent vice, injury, inroad, insolvency, insufficient funds, irresolution, jade, keel over, kited check, lack, lag, lambasting, languish, lapse, lathering, licking, lightness, lose altitude, lose ground, loss, maiming, mastery, mayhem, mischief, moral weakness, mutilation, nervous breakdown, nervous exhaustion, nervous prostration, neurasthenia, nose dive, not answer, not hack it, not make it, not make out, not measure up, not stretch, not suffice, overcoming, overdose, overdraft, overdrawn account, overthrow, overturn, pant, parachute, pass out, peg out, peter out, pine, pitch, play out, plummet, plummeting, plunge, poop out, pounce, pour down, pratfall, precipitate, prostration, puff, puff and blow, puncture, quietus, rain, rapids, receivership, remission, retreat, ruin, ruination, ruining, ruinousness, run a temperature, run down, run out, run short, sabotage, scathe, shatter, shipwreck, shut down, sicken, sickening, sink, sleaziness, slightness, slowdown, slump, smash, smashup, spoiling, stoop, stop short, stumble, subdual, subduing, subjugation, subsidence, succumb, sway, swoon, swoop, tailspin, take, take ill, thrashing, tire, topple, topple down, topple over, total loss, totter, trend downward, trimming, trouncing, tumble, undoing, unsubstantiality, vanquishment, velleity, wane, want, washout, waterfall, weaken, weakening, wear away, wear thin, weary, wheeze, whipping, wilt, wispiness, womanishness, wrack, wreck, yield
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