Explore 50 vivid idioms for failure, complete with meanings and examples. Perfect for adding color to your writing, teaching, or casual conversations.
50 Idioms for Failure
1. Go belly up
Meaning: To fail completely.
Example: “The company went belly up after the recession.”
2. Fall flat
Meaning: To fail to achieve the intended effect.
Example: “His joke fell flat with the audience.”
3. Go down in flames
Meaning: To fail spectacularly.
Example: “The project went down in flames when funding was pulled.”
4. Miss the mark
Meaning: To fail to achieve a goal.
Example: “Their advertising campaign missed the mark completely.”
5. Crash and burn
Meaning: To fail dramatically.
Example: “The start-up crashed and burned after the product recall.”
6. Back to square one
Meaning: To start over after a failure.
Example: “When the deal collapsed, it was back to square one.”
7. Drop the ball
Meaning: To make a mistake that leads to failure.
Example: “The team dropped the ball on the final presentation.”
8. Come to grief
Meaning: To experience failure or trouble.
Example: “The plan came to grief due to poor planning.”
9. Come a cropper
Meaning: To fail badly or fall.
Example: “He came a cropper in his attempt to secure the contract.”
10. Go off the rails
Meaning: To deviate from the plan and fail.
Example: “The project went off the rails when the lead left.”
11. Go south
Meaning: To go wrong or fail.
Example: “The deal went south after the disagreements.”
12. Bite the dust
Meaning: To fail or be defeated.
Example: “Their old website finally bit the dust.”
13. Fall on one’s face
Meaning: To fail embarrassingly.
Example: “She fell on her face during the presentation.”
14. Fizzle out
Meaning: To fail after a promising start.
Example: “His enthusiasm fizzled out by the third week.”
15. Go pear-shaped
Meaning: To go wrong or fail.
Example: “Our plan went pear-shaped when we lost funding.”
16. Shoot oneself in the foot
Meaning: To cause one’s own failure.
Example: “He shot himself in the foot by missing the deadline.”
17. A dead loss
Meaning: A complete failure.
Example: “The event was a dead loss due to poor attendance.”
18. Come up short
Meaning: To fail to meet expectations.
Example: “They came up short of the sales target.”
19. Go bust
Meaning: To go bankrupt.
Example: “The company went bust last year.”
20. Flat on your face
Meaning: To fail completely and embarrassingly.
Example: “He fell flat on his face during the job interview.”
21. Hit a brick wall
Meaning: To encounter an obstacle leading to failure.
Example: “Our plan hit a brick wall when we couldn’t get approval.”
22. Go up in smoke
Meaning: Plans or efforts fail completely.
Example: “The deal went up in smoke after the merger talks failed.”
23. Lost cause
Meaning: Something with no chance of success.
Example: “Trying to convince him was a lost cause.”
24. Let the side down
Meaning: To fail the team or group.
Example: “She let the side down by not showing up.”
25. Make a hash of it
Meaning: To mess something up badly.
Example: “He made a hash of the presentation.”
26. Blow it
Meaning: To fail by making a mistake.
Example: “He blew it by arriving late to the interview.”
27. Flop
Meaning: To fail completely.
Example: “The movie was a complete flop at the box office.”
28. Hit rock bottom
Meaning: To reach the lowest point.
Example: “His business hit rock bottom last year.”
29. Draw a blank
Meaning: To fail to remember or think of something.
Example: “I drew a blank on the test question.”
30. Drop like a stone
Meaning: To fail or decrease rapidly.
Example: “The stock prices dropped like a stone.”
31. Burn out
Meaning: To fail due to exhaustion.
Example: “She burned out after working 12-hour days.”
32. Go kaput
Meaning: To break or fail.
Example: “The old engine finally went kaput.”
33. Meet a sticky end
Meaning: To fail disastrously.
Example: “The plan met a sticky end due to mismanagement.”
34. Run aground
Meaning: To fail or be stopped.
Example: “The project ran aground due to budget cuts.”
35. Go under
Meaning: To fail financially.
Example: “Several stores went under during the recession.”
36. Fall from grace
Meaning: To lose respect or status.
Example: “The CEO fell from grace after the scandal.”
37. Sink without a trace
Meaning: To fail completely and disappear.
Example: “The app sank without a trace after launch.”
38. Bite the big one
Meaning: To fail badly or die.
Example: “The old server finally bit the big one.”
39. Get the chop
Meaning: To be cut or canceled.
Example: “His show got the chop after low ratings.”
40. Fold like a cheap suit
Meaning: To collapse or fail easily.
Example: “Their argument folded like a cheap suit.”
41. Come undone
Meaning: To fail or unravel.
Example: “Her plan came undone under pressure.”
42. Hit the skids
Meaning: To decline or fail.
Example: “His career hit the skids after the scandal.”
43. Fall by the wayside
Meaning: To fail or be abandoned.
Example: “Several ideas fell by the wayside during planning.”
44. Go off the deep end
Meaning: To act irrationally, leading to failure.
Example: “He went off the deep end and quit his job.”
45. Lose the plot
Meaning: To become irrational and fail.
Example: “He lost the plot during the crisis.”
46. Be dead in the water
Meaning: Unable to progress; failed.
Example: “Without funding, the project is dead in the water.”
47. Take a nosedive
Meaning: To decrease or fail rapidly.
Example: “Profits took a nosedive after the recall.”
48. Throw in the towel
Meaning: To give up or quit.
Example: “After several failures, she threw in the towel.”
49. Hit the buffers
Meaning: To come to an abrupt halt or fail.
Example: “The plan hit the buffers after the policy change.”
50. Blow a fuse
Meaning: To lose temper, leading to failure.
Example: “He blew a fuse during the argument and stormed out.”
🎯 Conclusion
Failure might be tough, but our language has plenty of creative idioms to describe it! Use these expressions to add flair to your writing, storytelling, or everyday conversations. From business flops to personal setbacks, there’s an idiom here for every kind of failure.