ENGLISH
REFERENCE

go under

idiom
Meaning

To collapse or fail, e.g. by going bankrupt.


Examples
SIMPLE

If the business does not make money, it will go under.

CONTEXTUAL

The small shop struggled for years with high rent before it finally had to go under.

COMPLEX

Despite the owner's desperate attempts to secure a loan, the company eventually went under, leaving hundreds of employees without work.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    all dressed up and nowhere to go

    Elaborately attired or otherwise fully prepared for an anticipated situation or activity which, nevertheless, fails to occur.

  2. 02

    all systems go

    Everything is ready.

  3. 03

    as you go

    While one is doing (something); as one progresses.

  4. 04

    boldly go where no man has gone before

    To break new ground.

  5. 05

    come and go

    To repeatedly appear and disappear; to be transient.

  6. 06

    don't go there

    Do not broach that topic.

  7. 07

    easy come, easy go

    Easily won and easily lost (usually said when resigned to a loss; something that comes in the same way, goes in the same way)

  8. 08

    enough to go around

    There is an adequate amount or supply of something for all of the people present or involved.

Last updated April 17, 2026