a goner

Idioms  

1. Something or someone that is dead, doomed, ruined, or past recovery, as in If this new drug doesn't work, he's a goner; or Without a working transmission, my car's a goner. Synonyms of this idiom, such as, are no longer heard as much. [Slang; mid-1800s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

a goner

That means if it’s separated from the ants it parasitizes, it’s a goner.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 10, 2026

I kept thinking: "If the next vehicle comes down the hill, the driver will struggle to see me and I will be a goner."

From BBC ● Jan. 13, 2024

They keep chatting, she asks his age — he’s 34 — and by the time that he drops her off, Lea is a goner and the story is on its way.

From New York Times ● Mar. 2, 2023

It’s a goner, he thought — far too damaged to even think about trying to repair.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 6, 2022

I don’t know how a person can resist fried foods, because I’m a goner every time I catch a whiff of them.

From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez