Etymologically
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meltdown

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 15:41. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈmɛltdaʊn/[1]
  • US: /ˈmɛltˌdaʊn/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English melt + down,[2][3] a noun use of the phrasal verb melt down,[4][5][6] which Etymonline records from the 1630s.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action or process of melting: 1919, in the Canadian Mining Journal.[4] Etymonline dates the sense "the melting of metal" by 1922,[2] and Merriam-Webster gives 1937 as its first known use.[6]

Semantic evolution

By 1956 the word was used of the accidental melting of the core of a nuclear reactor,[2] and this became its main technical sense.[4][7] Figurative uses began in the United States in 1979: any sudden and disastrous collapse, especially a rapid fall of a currency or a market.[4][7] From 1980 it also meant a loss of control over one's emotions or behaviour, a mental collapse or a tantrum.[4][6] Etymonline dates the sense "breakdown in self-control" from 1979.[2] A rare sense, a mass of melted material, is recorded from 1973.[4]

Timeline

  • 1630s – the verb phrase melt down.[2]
  • 1919 – noun, the action or process of melting.[4]
  • 1937 – first known use in Merriam-Webster.[6]
  • 1956 – the accidental melting of the core of a nuclear reactor.[2]
  • 1973 – a mass of melted material (rare).[4]
  • 1979 – a sudden disastrous collapse, as of a currency or market.[4]
  • 1980 – a loss of emotional control; a tantrum.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The accidental melting of the fuel in the core of a nuclear reactor, with the risk that radiation escapes: Engineers worked to prevent a meltdown.[7][6][4]
  2. A sudden and disastrous collapse or decline: a housing-market meltdown.[7][6][4]
  3. (informal) A sudden loss of control over one's feelings or behaviour; a tantrum: The tired toddler had a meltdown at the checkout.[4][6][5]
  4. The process of melting something, as scrap metal.[6][4]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins