collapse
/kəˈlæps/verb, noun
collapse is spelled C-O-L-L-A-P-S-E: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,309th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, collapse means “To break apart and fall down suddenly; to cave in” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in collapse?
| Letters | 8: C-O-L-L-A-P-S-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 15 times per million words; the 5,309th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is collapse?
Collapse appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,309th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce collapse?
- US /kəˈlæps/
- US /klæps/
- /kəˈlɛps/
Collapse has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-collapse.ogg, En-au-collapse.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with collapse?
5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as collapse from its last stressed vowel (/æps/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of collapse
- collapses present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- collapsing participle, present
- collapsed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does collapse mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To break apart and fall down suddenly; to cave in.
The wall collapsed when it was hit by the wrecking ball.
- 2
To cease to function due to a sudden breakdown; to fail suddenly and completely.
Pyramid schemes tend to generate profits for a while and then collapse.
- 3
To fold compactly.
- 4
To conflate, to ignore the distinctions between.
- 5
In a hierarchical list (such as a directory tree or table of contents), to hide the subentries of (an entry).
- 6
To suffer a batting collapse.
Immediately after his wicket the team collapsed for 69.
- 7
To cause something to collapse.
Hurry up and collapse the tent so we can get moving.
- 8
To pass out and fall to the floor or ground, as from exhaustion or other illness; to faint.
The exhausted singer collapsed on stage and had to be taken to the hospital.
noun
- 1
The act of collapsing.
She suffered a terrible collapse after slipping on the wet floor.
- 2
Constant function, one-valued function (in automata theory) (in particular application causing a reset).
- 3
Ellipsis of batting collapse.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Collapse in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | s'effondrer , effondrement, collapse |
| German | einstürzen, kollabieren, zusammenfallen , Kollaps , zusammenbrechen , einfallen |
| Portuguese | desabar, ruir, desmoronar, colapsar-se , contrair , colapsar |
| Spanish | derrumbarse, desplomarse, colapsar[se] , colapso, desplome , colapsar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does collapse come from?
From Latin collāpsus (past participle of collābor).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).