# how the mighty have fallen

idiom · CEFR C1

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/how-the-mighty-have-fallen
Updated: 2026-07-29

## Meaning

A remark on the dramatic downfall of someone once powerful or admired.

## Examples

- The champion lost in the first round — how the mighty have fallen.
- Once the biggest firm in the city, it was now selling off its offices; how the mighty have fallen.
- The executive who had once kept ministers waiting was reduced to answering questions from a committee that plainly no longer feared him, and more than one reporter in the gallery was thinking how the mighty have fallen.

## Origin

The words are from David's lament in 2 Samuel 1, at verses 19 and 25, mourning King Saul and his son Jonathan after they fall in battle: how are the mighty fallen. The line is a genuine cry of grief for great men brought low, spoken by someone who loved them. Torn from that setting, the phrase has taken on a cooler and sometimes sardonic tone, well suited to marking any spectacular collapse of the once-formidable. In English how the mighty have fallen is now said as often with a hint of satisfaction as with sorrow, noting the humbling of the powerful, the celebrated, or simply anyone who had grown a little too pleased with themselves.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.