down for the count
Decisively beaten; defeated; rendered irrelevant for the long term.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“The old computer is down for the count.”
“He stays in bed because the flu has him down for the count.”
“That old phone is down for the count after you dropped it.”
“After the company lost its biggest client, many analysts thought the business was down for the count.”
“The heavy rain flooded the engine, and now my car is down for the count until I can afford a mechanic.”
“Our team was down for the count after the star player got injured in the first five minutes of the game.”
“Following the sudden collapse of the national economy, the once-thriving local industry was effectively down for the count, leaving thousands of workers without a future.”
The idiom arises from the sport of boxing, referring to the moment a contestant is knocked to the canvas and remains unable to rise before the referee completes a count of ten. This specific tally signals the loss of the match, an outcome that transformed the technical observation of a physical collapse into a metaphor for finality.
- 01
count angels on pinheads
To focus on obtaining the correct details of something which are largely irrelevant or unimportant.
- 02
count noses
To count people one at a time.
- 03
count one's blessings
To focus one's attention on the circumstances of one's life which are pleasant or fortunate, especially with the intention of diverting one's thoughts from serious or disagreeable matters.
- 04
count one's days
To prepare for imminent retribution or termination.
- 05
count sheep
To attempt to go to sleep by thinking of something boring, traditionally by counting imaginary sheep.
- 06
count to five
Synonym of count to ten.
- 07
count to ten
An expression used to describe or recommend a process for pausing to regain one's composure when one is on the verge of losing one's temper.
- 08
count to three
Synonym of count to ten.
Last updated August 10, 2026