melt\ down

melt-down — s.m.inv. ES ingl. 1. TS fis. → fusione del nocciolo 2. TS econ. fig., caduta, crollo finanziario: il melt down delle azioni {{line}} {{/line}} VARIANTI: meltdown. DATA: sec. XX. ETIMO: ingl. melt down, comp. di (to) melt fondere e down giù …   Dizionario italiano

melt down — /meltˈdaun, ingl. ˈmɛltˌdaun/ o meltdown [vc. ingl., dal v. to melt down «sciogliere»] s. m. inv. (fig.) crollo, caduta, tracollo …   Sinonimi e Contrari. Terza edizione

melt|down — «MEHLT DOWN», noun. 1. a condition in which the radioactive fuel of a nuclear reactor melts through its insulation and is released because of a breakdown of its cooling system: »If there were to be a meltdown, the release of radioactivity would… …   Useful english dictionary

melt down — verb reduce or cause to be reduced from a solid to a liquid state, usually by heating melt butter melt down gold The wax melted in the sun • Syn: ↑melt, ↑run • Derivationally related forms: ↑meltable ( …   Useful english dictionary

melt down — phrasal verb [transitive] Word forms melt down : present tense I/you/we/they melt down he/she/it melts down present participle melting down past tense melted down past participle melted down to heat a metal until it becomes liquid, especially in… …   English dictionary

melt down — PHRASAL VERB If an object is melted down, it is heated until it melts, so that the material can be used to make something else. [be V ed P] Some of the guns were melted down and used to help build a statue... [V n P] When Jefferson didn t like a… …   English dictionary

melt·down — /ˈmɛltˌdaʊn/ noun, pl downs 1 : an accident in which the core of a nuclear reactor melts and releases radiation [count] a nuclear meltdown [noncount] fears that an accident could cause meltdown 2 a : a very fast collapse or failure …   Useful english dictionary

melt down — phr verb Melt down is used with these nouns as the object: ↑metal …   Collocations dictionary

melt down — melt …   English contemporary dictionary

melt down — Synonyms and related words: colliquate, concentrate, cut, decoagulate, decoct, defrost, deliquesce, dissolve, distill, essentialize, express, fluidify, fluidize, flux, fuse, hold in solution, infuse, leach, liquefy, liquesce, liquidize, lixiviate …   Moby Thesaurus

melt down — intransitive verb Date: 1956 to suffer a meltdown ; collapse …   New Collegiate Dictionary