50 Idioms for Failure With Meanings & Sentences
Idioms for Failure
1. Fall flat
Meaning: To fail completely to produce the desired effect.
In a Sentence: His joke fell flat and no one laughed.
Other Ways to Say: Bomb, flop.
2. Going bust
Meaning: Failing financially or going bankrupt.
In a Sentence: The small business went bust after just six months.
Other Ways to Say: Going under, flopping financially.
3. Back to the drawing board
Meaning: To start over after a failed attempt.
In a Sentence: The design didn’t work, so it’s back to the drawing board.
Other Ways to Say: Start again, rethink the plan.
4. Miss the mark
Meaning: Fail to achieve the intended result.
In a Sentence: His speech missed the mark with the audience.
Other Ways to Say: Off target, ineffective.
5. Hitting a brick wall
Meaning: Encountering an insurmountable obstacle or experiencing a sudden stop in progress.
In a Sentence: Despite studying hard, he felt like he was hitting a brick wall in math class.
Other Ways to Say: Running into a roadblock, meeting a dead end.
6. Bite the dust
Meaning: To fail, fall, or be defeated.
In a Sentence: Another startup bit the dust after poor management.
Other Ways to Say: Collapse, fall apart.
7. Come to nothing
Meaning: To fail after effort or planning.
In a Sentence: All their preparations came to nothing when the event was canceled.
Other Ways to Say: Amount to zero, end in failure.
8. Drop the ball
Meaning: To make a mistake or fail to act responsibly.
In a Sentence: He dropped the ball on that project by missing the deadline.
Other Ways to Say: Mess up, slip up.
9. Flop
Meaning: A complete failure, especially in performance or business.
In a Sentence: The movie was a huge flop at the box office.
Other Ways to Say: Bomb, disaster.
10. Go down in flames
Meaning: To fail spectacularly or publicly.
In a Sentence: His proposal went down in flames during the meeting.
Other Ways to Say: Crash and burn, fail miserably.
11. Run aground
Meaning: To fail due to unforeseen difficulties.
In a Sentence: Their plan ran aground when funding was pulled.
Other Ways to Say: Stall, collapse.
12. Blow up in one’s face
Meaning: A plan or effort that fails and causes embarrassment.
In a Sentence: His scheme to win the bid blew up in his face.
Other Ways to Say: Backfire, turn against.
13. Not cut out for
Meaning: Lacking the ability or talent to succeed in something.
In a Sentence: I realized I’m not cut out for public speaking.
Other Ways to Say: Unfit, unsuitable.
14. Dead end
Meaning: A situation with no progress or success possible.
In a Sentence: The investigation hit a dead end.
Other Ways to Say: No way forward, roadblock.
15. Crash and burn
Meaning: To fail badly and suddenly.
In a Sentence: He tried to manage both jobs but eventually crashed and burned.
Other Ways to Say: Collapse, self-destruct.
16. Miss the boat
Meaning: To fail to take advantage of an opportunity.
In a Sentence: We missed the boat by not investing early.
Other Ways to Say: Lose out, too late.
17. A lost cause
Meaning: Something that is hopeless or certain to fail.
In a Sentence: Trying to fix that old laptop is a lost cause.
Other Ways to Say: Hopeless case, no hope.
18. Go under
Meaning: To fail, especially financially.
In a Sentence: Many small shops went under during the recession.
Other Ways to Say: Shut down, bankrupt.
19. Blow it
Meaning: To lose a chance or fail by mistake.
In a Sentence: He blew it by arriving late for the interview.
Other Ways to Say: Mess up, fail.
20. Barking up the wrong tree
Meaning: To pursue a mistaken or misguided course.
In a Sentence: He was barking up the wrong tree by blaming his coworker.
Other Ways to Say: Misguided, incorrect assumption.
21. Fall through
Meaning: A plan that fails to materialize.
In a Sentence: Our weekend trip fell through due to bad weather.
Other Ways to Say: Cancel, not happen.
22. Bomb
Meaning: To fail completely, especially in performance.
In a Sentence: His speech bombed at the conference.
Other Ways to Say: Flop, disaster.
23. Not make the cut
Meaning: To fail to qualify or succeed.
In a Sentence: She didn’t make the cut for the final round.
Other Ways to Say: Didn’t qualify, fell short.
24. Strike out
Meaning: To fail at something attempted.
In a Sentence: He struck out trying to get investors.
Other Ways to Say: Fail, miss the goal.
25. Drown in failure
Meaning: To be overwhelmed by repeated failures.
In a Sentence: After three failed businesses, he felt like he was drowning in failure.
Other Ways to Say: Buried in loss, overwhelmed.
26. A sinking ship
Meaning: A failing project or situation.
In a Sentence: Everyone started quitting once they saw it was a sinking ship.
Other Ways to Say: Doomed project, lost cause.
27. Come apart at the seams
Meaning: To fall apart or fail completely.
In a Sentence: Their partnership came apart at the seams under pressure.
Other Ways to Say: Collapse, break down.
28. Bite off more than one can chew
Meaning: To take on more than one can handle, leading to failure.
In a Sentence: He failed because he bit off more than he could chew.
Other Ways to Say: Overextend, overcommit.
29. Have egg on your face
Meaning: To be embarrassed after failure.
In a Sentence: He had egg on his face after the failed launch.
Other Ways to Say: Feel foolish, be shamed.
30. A shot in the dark
Meaning: An attempt with little chance of success.
In a Sentence: His business idea was a shot in the dark—and it failed.
Other Ways to Say: Wild guess, low chance effort.
31. Sink or swim
Meaning: To either succeed or fail with no help.
In a Sentence: They gave her no training—it was sink or swim.
Other Ways to Say: Survive or fail, trial by fire.
32. Face the music
Meaning: To deal with consequences of failure.
In a Sentence: After the project failed, he had to face the music with the board.
Other Ways to Say: Accept blame, confront consequences.
33. A false start
Meaning: A beginning that leads to failure or has to be redone.
In a Sentence: Their first attempt was a false start.
Other Ways to Say: Failed beginning, wrong move.
34. Go nowhere fast
Meaning: Making no progress.
In a Sentence: The team is going nowhere fast with this plan.
Other Ways to Say: Stuck, not progressing.
35. Choke
Meaning: To fail under pressure.
In a Sentence: He choked during the final pitch.
Other Ways to Say: Freeze, fail nervously.
36. Dead in the water
Meaning: A plan or effort that has no chance of progressing.
In a Sentence: Without approval, the proposal is dead in the water.
Other Ways to Say: Useless, going nowhere.
37. Lost the plot
Meaning: To lose control or fail to understand what’s happening.
In a Sentence: He completely lost the plot during the meeting.
Other Ways to Say: Confused, off track.
38. Not worth a hill of beans
Meaning: Of no value or importance.
In a Sentence: His excuses weren’t worth a hill of beans.
Other Ways to Say: Worthless, meaningless.
39. Hit rock bottom
Meaning: To reach the lowest point.
In a Sentence: After the bankruptcy, they hit rock bottom.
Other Ways to Say: At the worst point, completely failed.
40. Sputter out
Meaning: To fail after a weak or uncertain start.
In a Sentence: The campaign sputtered out after two weeks.
Other Ways to Say: Fade, stall.
41. Go south
Meaning: To fail or deteriorate.
In a Sentence: Everything went south after the market crashed.
Other Ways to Say: Collapse, fall apart.
42. Pass the buck
Meaning: To shift blame for failure to someone else.
In a Sentence: Instead of owning up, he passed the buck to his assistant.
Other Ways to Say: Blame others, avoid responsibility.
43. Out of gas
Meaning: Lacking energy, motivation, or resources.
In a Sentence: After three rejections, she was out of gas.
Other Ways to Say: Exhausted, depleted.
44. Going nowhere
Meaning: Making no progress.
In a Sentence: This idea is going nowhere fast.
Other Ways to Say: Stuck, ineffective.
45. Knocked out of the game
Meaning: Removed due to failure or mistake.
In a Sentence: One misstep knocked her out of the game.
Other Ways to Say: Eliminated, taken down.
46. Fall from grace
Meaning: To lose favor or status due to failure.
In a Sentence: The CEO fell from grace after the scandal.
Other Ways to Say: Disgraced, demoted.
47. Not up to par
Meaning: Below expected standards.
In a Sentence: His performance was not up to par.
Other Ways to Say: Substandard, underperforming.
48. Hang it up
Meaning: To quit after failing.
In a Sentence: After his fourth failure, he decided to hang it up.
Other Ways to Say: Give up, retire.
49. Hit the skids
Meaning: To start declining or failing.
In a Sentence: The company hit the skids after poor leadership.
Other Ways to Say: Decline, deteriorate.
50. Have a rough patch
Meaning: Experience difficulties or failures.
In a Sentence: Their startup is going through a rough patch.
Other Ways to Say: Struggling, having setbacks.
