collapse

Collapse refers to the sudden failure or breakdown of a structure, system, or organization. In a physical context, it can describe the falling down or crumbling of buildings or other physical entities due to stress, structural weaknesses, or external forces. In a more abstract sense, collapse can refer to the disintegration or failure of social, economic, or political systems, often marked by a significant loss of function or efficacy. The term also applies in various fields, such as physics, where it may describe a drastic reduction in a system’s dimensionality or the process of a wave function in quantum mechanics collapsing into a definitive state. Overall, collapse signifies an abrupt and often irreversible transition from a stable or functional state to one that is dysfunctional or non-existent.