释义 |
col·lapse I. \kəˈlaps\ verb (-ed/-ing/-s) Etymology: Latin collapsus, past participle of collabi to collapse, from com- + labi to fall, slide — more at sleep intransitive verb 1. : to break down completely : fall apart in confused disorganization : crumble into insignificance or nothingness : disintegrate < his case had collapsed in a mass of legal wreckage — Erle Stanley Gardner > < a flimsy banking enterprise which collapsed — R.A.Billington > 2. : to fall or shrink together abruptly and completely : fall into a jumbled or flattened mass through the force of external pressure : fall in < the sides of a limp empty boat collapse > < our interest collapses like a pricked balloon — G.M.Trevelyan > < a blood vessel that collapsed > 3. : to cave in, fall in, or give way : undergo ruin or destruction by or as if by falling down : become dispersed < its passage ripped away the crown of the arch and immediately the whole bridge collapsed — O.S.Nock > < a magnetic field collapsing > 4. : to suddenly lose force, significance, effectiveness, or worth < all his annoyance collapsed in a heap — Hamilton Basso > < collapsing currencies of unstable countries > 5. : to break down in vital energy, stamina, or self-control through exhaustion or disease : lose ability to perform accustomed activities : fall helpless or unconscious < a fireman collapsing from the fumes > < several oarsmen collapsing after the hard race > < collapsed into tears > 6. : to fold down into a more compact shape : close together < a collapsing opera hat > < a telescope that collapses > transitive verb : to cause to collapse < collapse the movement > < collapsing an infected lung > < the explosion collapsed several buildings > < collapse an opera hat > II. noun (-s) 1. a. : a breakdown in vital energy, strength, or stamina : complete sudden enervation : sudden loss of accustomed abilities < the daughter's mental collapse through mounting frustration — Leslie Rees > b. : a state of extreme prostration and physical depression resulting from circulatory failure, great loss of body fluids, or heart disease and occurring terminally in diseases such as cholera, typhoid fever, pneumonia — compare shock c. : an airless state of a lung in whole or in part of spontaneous origin or induced surgically — see atelectasis d. : an abnormal falling together of the walls of an organ < collapse of blood vessels > 2. : the action of collapsing : the act or action of drawing together or permitting or causing a falling together < the cutting of many tent ropes, the collapse of the canvas — Rudyard Kipling > 3. a. : breakdown : sudden failure : disintegration, ruin, destruction < the speedy disruption and eventual collapse of our entire society — Lewis Mumford > < the panic … with its attendant collapse of grandiose dreams — American Guide Series: Minnesota > b. : sudden loss of force, value, effect, or significance < the collapse of respect for ancient law and custom — L.S.B.Leakey > < to save the pound sterling from collapse — Leon Halden > 4. : a defect in wood due to abnormal and irregular shrinkage and resulting in a wrinkled or corrugated appearance of the surface and sometimes also an internal honeycombing 5. : the sum of postbreeding regressive changes in the testes of a seasonal breeding male animal |