German word

zusammenbrechen

Pronunciation

IPA/tsuˈzamənˌbʁɛçən/

Meaning

  • verbcollapse

Example

Er bricht plötzlich zusammen.

He suddenly collapsed.

Illustration for zusammenbrechen (collapse)

More examples

Nach dem Tod seiner Mutter brach er psychisch zusammen.

After his mother's death, he had a mental breakdown.

Core concept

A person, structure, or system suddenly loses its support and folds in on itself.

Common phrases

  • psychisch zusammenbrechen

    have a mental breakdown

  • unter Stress zusammenbrechen

    collapse under stress

Similar words

kollabieren: Suffer a sudden medical collapse, lose consciousness, and fall.
umfallen: Lose balance and tip forward or sideways onto the ground.
zusammenklappen: Suddenly lose strength from fatigue or shock and fold to the ground.
einstürzen: Collapse dramatically after losing the internal support of a structure.

Definition in German

zusammenbrechen beschreibt das plötzliche Zusammenfallen oder Versagen von Personen, Bauwerken oder Systemen.

Word origin

The separable compound combines zusammen, meaning together, with brechen, meaning break, and extends physical breaking or collapsing to fainting and failure.

Usage tips

  • As a separable verb, zusammenbrechen becomes Er bricht zusammen in a main clause, while its perfect uses ist zusammengebrochen.

Other meanings

  • faintverb
  • cave inverb
  • break downverb

Opposites

Related words

  • zusammenbrechendcollapsingadjective
  • der Zusammenbruchcollapsenoun

Word lists with this word