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Synonyms

go belly-up

Idioms  

  1. Fail, go bankrupt, as in This company's about to go belly-up. This expression alludes to the posture of a dead fish in the water. [Slang; early 1900s] Also see go broke.

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.

Many states require companies to plug wells that are tapped out and to post bonds in case they go belly-up, but those bonds don’t cover the cost.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 29, 2021

State and federal regulations normally require drillers to pay an up-front bond to cover future cleanups if they go belly-up.

From Reuters • Jun. 16, 2020

It has also see some of its investments go belly-up, like its microtransit service Chariot, which shuttered earlier this year.

From The Verge • Sep. 25, 2019

Within months, the oil industry began to go belly-up.

From Washington Times • Apr. 3, 2017

When the hour was over—someone already itching to get on the machine after him—Saunders would be ready to spend the next few hours figuring out what the heck had made the program go belly-up.

From Hackers, Heroes of the Computer Revolution Chapters 1 and 2 by Levy, Steven

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.