English · Word Candidate

meltdown

/ˈmɛltdaʊn/

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Also seen as: meltdowns

Sense 1

Meaning · English

An act or process of melting.

Noun

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Sense 2

Meaning · English

An act or process of melting. — 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.

Noun

Examples

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

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “meltdown” mean?

An act or process of melting.

Is “meltdown” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

👁 Views 0 today 0 past 7 days 0 this month 0 all time