D defs.my
Entry 3 senses Webster, 1913

Debacle

/dəb-äk'-əl/ · De·ba·cle · IPA /dɪˈbɑ.kəl/
01 n. A breaking or bursting forth; a violent rush or flood of waters which breaks down opposing barriers, and hurls forward and disperses blocks…
  1. 1.
    A breaking or bursting forth; a violent rush or flood of waters which breaks down opposing barriers, and hurls forward and disperses blocks of stone and other débris.(Geol.)
  2. 2.
    A sudden breaking up or breaking loose; a violent dispersion or disruption; impetuous rush; outburst.
  3. 3.
    a complete and ludicrous failure; a rout, as of an army; a great disaster; a fiasco. See: fiasco