To collapse inward violently; to fail or break down suddenly from internal pressure or problems.
From Latin 'in-' (inward) + 'plodere' (to strike or clap). The word was created as a scientific term in the 19th century as the opposite of 'explode' (to burst outward).
Implode was invented by scientists as the mirror image of explode—showing how language adapts when we need words for new concepts, like watching buildings collapse inward.
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