Collapsing

How to spell collapsing

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce collapsing

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does collapsing mean?

1. verbFalling down or inward suddenly, or breaking down and failing.

Collapsing in a sentence

• The old warehouse roof was collapsing under the weight of the snow.

• Investors panicked as the housing market kept collapsing through the autumn.

Where does collapsing come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb collabi, meaning 'to fall together' or 'to fall in ruin', formed from com- 'together' and labi 'to slip or fall'. The same labi root also gives English 'lapse' (a slip) and 'relapse' (a slipping back), so the idea of sliding or falling sits at the heart of the whole family. English took up 'collapse' as a verb in the early eighteenth century, originally in medical writing about a body or organ falling in on itself, before it broadened to buildings, structures, plans, and markets. The present participle 'collapsing' simply adds the -ing ending to that verb. The spelling trap is the doubled letters early on: two l's in 'col-' but only one p, and learners sometimes mirror the wrong consonant.

How the word is built

• col- (from com-, together)
• laps (from Latin labi: to slip or fall)
• -ing (present participle)