go to pieces
Meaning
To lose emotional control or stop functioning properly, especially under stress; to break down mentally or physically.
Origin
From the literal idea of something breaking into pieces; figuratively used from the early 1900s for a person or system breaking down emotionally or functionally.
Notes
Often implies an emotional breakdown (sadness, panic, stress), but can also mean something stops working. Common in everyday speech; tone ranges from sympathetic to matter-of-fact.
Examples
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When she heard the bad news, she went to pieces and couldn’t stop crying.
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The team went to pieces after their captain got injured.
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I try not to go to pieces under pressure, but the deadlines are brutal this week.
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He went to pieces when his laptop crashed right before the presentation.
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Their relationship went to pieces after years of constant arguing.
Grammar & Usage Notes
Verb phrase: go/goes/went/gone to pieces. Often with subject + go to pieces; may take adverbs (completely, totally). Can be literal or figurative; plural 'pieces' is fixed.
Synonyms
- fall apart
- break down
- lose it
- have a meltdown
- collapse
Antonyms
- hold it together
- keep it together
- stay calm
- remain composed
- function normally