meltdown
melt·down/ˈmɛltˌdaʊn/noun
meltdown is spelled M-E-L-T-D-O-W-N: 8 letters and 2 syllables (melt·down). It appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 13,897th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, meltdown means “An act or process of melting” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of meltdown is meltdowns.
How many letters and syllables are in meltdown?
| Letters | 8: M-E-L-T-D-O-W-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: melt·down |
| In writing | 3.5 times per million words; the 13,897th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is meltdown?
Meltdown appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 13,897th 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 meltdown?
- UK /ˈmɛltdaʊn/
- British /ˈmɛltdawn/
- US /ˈmɛltˌdaʊn/
Meltdown has 2 syllables, split melt·down in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-meltdown.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with meltdown
Also written: melt down (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of meltdown
- meltdowns plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does meltdown mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An act or process of melting.
- 2
Severe uncontrolled overheating and melting of the fuel in the core of a nuclear reactor, with the potential for radiation to escape; (countable) an instance of this.
- 3
rareA mass of melted material.
- 4
Chiefly preceded by a descriptive word: uncontrolled disorder which often has disastrous consequences; (countable) a situation involving this; a crisis.
- 5
Synonym of crash (“a sudden large decline in the value of money, stocks or other assets, etc., especially one that causes additional economic difficulties”).
- 6
informalAn emotional outburst; a fit, a tantrum.
- 7
informalA response to sensory overload or stress, in which an autistic person is overwhelmed by intense, seemingly disproportionate emotions, behaving erratically and becoming unable to mask (“act more neurotypically”).
- 8
informalSynonym of nervous breakdown (“an attack of a psychological disorder such as anxiety or depression which is so severe that it prevents a person from continuing to function normally”); also (loosely), a situation where one is unable to function mentally due to panic, stress, etc.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Meltdown in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | fusion du cœur d'un réacteur nucléaire |
| German | Kernschmelze , Nervenzusammenbruch, Zusammenbruch |
| Portuguese | derretimento nuclear , catástrofe |
| Spanish | copelación/fundición nuclear, derretimiento nuclear, fusión de núcleo , chiripiolca, chiripiorca, chucaque |
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 meltdown come from?
From melt (verb) + down (adverb), a deverbal from melt down (verb).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).