meltdowns

Noun

meltdown (countable and uncountable, plural meltdowns)

1. (countable) An act or process of melting.
   1. (uncountable, nuclear energy) 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.
      • Thus began by far the gravest crisis in the troubled, 32-year history of commercial atomic power. A catastrophe had occurred over the weekend at the Chernobyl plant, 80 miles north of Kiev, where a reactor meltdown and explosion caused untold death and suffering and raised the prospect of long-term...1986 May 12, John Greenwald, “Deadly Meltdown”, in Time, New York, N.Y.: Time Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 21 May 2025
2. (countable, rare) A mass of melted material.
3. (figuratively, uncountable) Chiefly preceded by a descriptive word: uncontrolled disorder which often has disastrous consequences; (countable) a situation involving this; a crisis.
   • Channel 4 switchboards went into meltdown this week when viewers called to complain about a Brass Eye programme on child sex.2001, James Wickham, “Perv spoof bosses axe wrestling”, in Peter Hill, editor, Daily Star, London: Reach plc, →ISSN, →OCLC, column 1
   1. (countable, figuratively) Synonym of crash (“a sudden large decline in the value of money, stocks or other assets, etc., especially one that causes additional economic difficulties”).
4. (countable, figuratively, informal) An emotional outburst; a fit, a tantrum.

   Synonyms:

   melty, tantrum, catfit, conniption, conniption fit, dummy spit, headfit, hissy, hissy fit, paddy

See all 8 meanings of meltdown