From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcome apart phrasal verb1 BREAKto split or fall into pieces I picked the magazine up and it came apart in my hands.2 BREAKto begin to fail The whole basis of the agreement was coming apart. She felt as if her life was coming apart at the seams (=failing completely). → come→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
come apart• The pilot reported engine problems, and survivors said they could see the left engine begin to come apart.• There is a general agreement of how it came apart.• The train came apart as it took a right-hand bend on one of the busiest stretches of line in Britain.• She was an idiot, coming apart at the seams, and she hadn't written a word.• The leisurewear industry would come apart at the seams, literally, without this indispensable fastening.• It is, however, the point where the valley comes apart, dividing into a western and an eastern branch.• More often than not, the lashing simply came apart in my hands.• Kerns is Sara Rayner, whose orderly little life comes apart when she is attacked and raped by a homicidal maniac.coming apart at the seams• The lawsuit began coming apart at the seams.• She was an idiot, coming apart at the seams, and she hadn't written a word. 