fall apart
To be emotionally in crisis.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“She started to fall apart after hearing the bad news.”
“He tried to stay strong during the funeral, but he finally fell apart when the music started playing.”
“Despite her outward appearance of composure, she began to fall apart under the immense pressure of the investigation and the constant scrutiny of the public.”
- 01
catch a falling knife
To buy a financial instrument whose price is falling rapidly.
- 02
come apart at the seams
Synonym of fall apart.
- 03
drift apart
To lose contact, to lose one's friendship or closeness.
- 04
fall around
To fall over continually, especially through drunkenness, clumsiness, or incompetence.
- 05
fall asleep
To be affected by paresthesia; to go numb.
- 06
fall at the last hurdle
To fail near the end of an activity, a project, etc.
- 07
fall behind
To be late (for a regular event)
- 08
fall between the cracks
To wind up in an unexpected situation which is, inadvertently, invisible to or not handled by whatever process one had hoped to be subject to; to be overlooked.
Last updated August 10, 2026