[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/meltdown/)

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# meltdown

noun (a meltdown, meltdowns)

«meltdown» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A serious accident in a nuclear power station when the core gets so hot that it melts. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/meltdown/#m1)
2. (informal) A moment when someone loses control of their feelings and cries or shouts, like a toddler's tantrum. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/meltdown/#m2)
3. (informal) A sudden total failure or collapse: a market meltdown. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/meltdown/#m3)

### In the lessons

In science, meltdown is the dangerous overheating of a nuclear reactor. In everyday talk parents speak of a child having a meltdown in a shop; teachers learn that some children have meltdowns when overwhelmed. In news it means a sudden crash.

### Examples

- The little boy had a meltdown when the ice cream fell. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/meltdown/#x1)
- I nearly had a meltdown when my homework vanished from the computer. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/meltdown/#x2)
- Scientists work hard to stop a reactor meltdown. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/meltdown/#x3)
- The team suffered a meltdown in the second half and lost. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/meltdown/#x4)
- The town had a traffic meltdown in the snow. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/meltdown/#x5)
- Stay calm, there's no need for a meltdown. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/meltdown/#x6)

### Note

One word, from melt + down. Informal in the feelings sense. A meltdown in autism is different from a tantrum — it is not done on purpose, and kindness helps.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «meltdown» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/meltdown/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«meltdown» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/meltdown.html) on Mova free.