go under

verb

1. (also preposition) to sink below (a surface)

2. to founder or drown

3. to be conquered or overwhelmed

   the firm went under in the economic crisis

Idioms and Phrases

Suffer defeat or destruction; fail. For example, We feared the business would go under after the founder died . [Mid-1800s]

Lose consciousness. For example, Ether was the first anesthetic to make patients go under quickly and completely . This usage dates from the 1930s.

Submerge, sink, as in This leaky boat is about to go under .

Related Words

• bankrupt 
• drown