melt down

溶かす、溶かして再利用する

主に金属やガラスの物を熱で液体にし、別の物を作る材料にする。

やさしい英語で： To heat something, especially metal or glass, until it becomes liquid, often to make something new.

• They melted down the old gold.
• This factory melts down glass bottles for reuse.
• Can we melt these broken silver pieces down?

使い方： melt something down (They melted the old coins down to make new ones.); melt down something (The factory melts down scrap metal.)

類義語： melt, liquefy

よく使う表現： melt down metal, melt down coins, melt down glass

取り乱す、崩壊する

感情を抑えられなくなったり、重圧で完全に機能しなくなったりする。

やさしい英語で： To lose control of your feelings, or fail completely under pressure.

• The child melted down after lunch.
• She nearly melted down under the pressure of the exams.
• The whole payment system melted down during the holiday rush.

類義語： break down, collapse

よく使う表現： melt down emotionally, melt down completely

溶融する、炉心溶融を起こす

特に原子炉で、固体の部分が熱くなりすぎて溶け、形を失う。

やさしい英語で： To become so hot that solid parts turn liquid and lose their shape, especially inside a nuclear reactor.

• The reactor core melted down.
• Without cooling, the fuel could melt down.
• Investigators explained why the damaged reactor had melted down.

類義語： melt

よく使う表現： melt down completely, melt down suddenly