fall by the wayside

Idioms

Fail to continue, drop out, as in At first she did well on the tour, but with all the pressure she soon fell by the wayside. This phrase appeared in William Tyndale's translation of the New Testament (1526; Luke 8:5).

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Some big names did fall by the wayside, with Italian champions Napoli being bundled out along with three former champions in Marseille, PSV Eindhoven and Ajax.

From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026

Certain plot points are overexplained; others are left to fall by the wayside.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 18, 2025

Those who can’t govern may fall by the wayside.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 29, 2025

“Sometimes you end up trying too hard, and things sort of fall by the wayside or get eaten up by the try-hardness of it all,” Harjo said.

From Salon • Oct. 8, 2025

The Onward was the first of our division to fall by the wayside.

From Sea-Hounds by Freeman, Lewis R.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023