Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun meltdown

2 senses of meltdown

Sense 1
meltdown, nuclear meltdown -- (severe overheating of the core of a nuclear reactor resulting in the core melting and radiation escaping)
       => overheating -- (excessive heating)

Sense 2
meltdown -- (a disaster comparable to a nuclear meltdown; "there is little likelihood of a meltdown comparable to the American banking collapse in March 1933")
       => calamity, catastrophe, disaster, tragedy, cataclysm -- (an event resulting in great loss and misfortune; "the whole city was affected by the irremediable calamity"; "the earthquake was a disaster")